Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Publication 550

Cat. No. 15093R

Investment

Income and

Expenses

(Including Capital

Gains and Losses)

For use in preparing

2023 Returns

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Contents

Future Developments ....................... 1

Reminders ............................... 2

Introduction .............................. 2

Chapter 1. Investment Income ............... 2

General Information ...................... 3

Interest Income .......................... 6

Discount on Debt Instruments .............. 18

When To Report Interest Income ............ 23

How To Report Interest Income ............. 24

Dividends and Other Distributions ........... 27

How To Report Dividend Income ............ 33

Stripped Preferred Stock .................. 35

REMICs, FASITs, and Other CDOs ........... 36

S Corporations ......................... 38

Investment Clubs ....................... 38

Chapter 2. Tax Shelters and Other Reportable 

Transactions .......................... 39

Abusive Tax Shelters ..................... 40

Chapter 3. Investment Expenses ............ 44

Limits on Deductions .................... 45

Interest Expenses ....................... 45

Bond Premium Amortization ............... 49

Nondeductible Interest Expenses ............ 50

How To Report Investment Interest Expenses ... 51

When To Report Investment Expenses ........ 52

Chapter 4. Sales and Trades of 

Investment Property .................... 52

What Is a Sale or Trade? .................. 53

Basis of Investment Property ............... 58

How To Figure Gain or Loss ................ 65

Nontaxable Trades ...................... 67

Transfers Between Spouses ............... 71

Related Party Transactions ................ 71

Capital Gains and Losses ................. 73

Reporting Capital Gains and Losses ......... 97

Special Rules for Traders in Securities or 

Commodities ....................... 102

Chapter 5. How To Get Tax Help ............ 103

Index ................................. 111

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to 

Pub. 550, such as legislation enacted after it was 

published, go to IRS.gov/Pub550.

Mar 8, 2024
Reminders

Foreign source income. If you are a U.S. citizen with investment income from sources outside the United States 

(foreign income), you must report that income on your tax 

return unless it is exempt by U.S. law. This is true whether 

you reside inside or outside the United States and 

whether or not you receive a Form 1099 from the foreign 

payer.

Employee stock options. If you received an option to 

buy or sell stock or other property as payment for your 

services, see Pub. 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income, 

for the special tax rules that apply.

Disaster relief. Relief is available for those affected by 

some disasters. See IRS.gov/DisasterTaxRelief.

Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for 

Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC). Photographs of 

missing children selected by the Center may appear in 

this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. 

You can help bring these children home by looking at the 

photographs and calling 800-THE-LOST (800-843-5678) 

if you recognize a child.

Introduction

This publication provides information on the tax treatment 

of investment income and expenses. It includes information on the tax treatment of investment income and expenses for individual shareholders of mutual funds or other 

regulated investment companies, such as money market 

funds. It explains what investment income is taxable and 

what investment expenses are deductible. It explains 

when and how to show these items on your tax return. It 

also explains how to determine and report gains and losses on the disposition of investment property and provides 

information on property trades and tax shelters.

The glossary at the end of this publication defines 

many of the terms used.

Investment income. This generally includes interest, 

dividends, capital gains, and other types of distributions 

including mutual fund distributions.

Investment expenses. These include interest paid or incurred to acquire investment property and expenses to 

manage or collect income from investment property.

Qualified retirement plans and IRAs. The rules in this 

publication do not apply to investments held in individual 

retirement arrangements (IRAs), section 401(k) plans, and 

other qualified retirement plans. The tax rules that apply to 

retirement plan distributions are explained in the following 

publications.

• Pub. 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business.

• Pub. 571, Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans.

TIP

• Pub. 575, Pension and Annuity Income.

• Pub. 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).

• Pub. 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement 

Arrangements (IRAs).

• Pub. 721, Tax Guide to U.S. Civil Service Retirement 

Benefits.

Comments and suggestions. We welcome your comments about this publication and suggestions for future 

editions.

You can send us comments through IRS.gov/

FormComments. Or, you can write to the Internal Revenue 

Service, Tax Forms and Publications, 1111 Constitution 

Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224.

Although we can’t respond individually to each comment received, we do appreciate your feedback and will 

consider your comments and suggestions as we revise 

our tax forms, instructions, and publications. Don’t send 

tax questions, tax returns, or payments to the above address.

Getting answers to your tax questions. If you have 

a tax question not answered by this publication or the How 

To Get Tax Help section at the end of this publication, go 

to the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant page at IRS.gov/

Help/ITA where you can find topics by using the search 

feature or viewing the categories listed.

Getting tax forms, instructions, and publications. 

Go to IRS.gov/Forms to download current and prior-year 

forms, instructions, and publications.

Ordering tax forms, instructions, and publications. 

Go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to order current forms, instructions, and publications; call 800-829-3676 to order 

prior-year forms and instructions. The IRS will process 

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Don’t resubmit requests you’ve already sent us. You can 

get forms and publications faster online.

1.

Investment Income

Topics

This chapter discusses:

• Interest Income,

• Discount on Debt Instruments,

• When To Report Interest Income,

• How To Report Interest Income,

• Dividends and Other Distributions,

2 Publication 550 (2023)
• How To Report Dividend Income,

• Stripped Preferred Stock,

• Real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs), 

financial asset securitization investment trusts 

(FASITs), and other collateralized debt obligations 

(CDOs),

• S Corporations, and

• Investment Clubs.

Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publication

Taxable and Nontaxable Income

Installment Sales

Distributions from Individual Retirement 

Arrangements (IRAs)

Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules

Guide to Original Issue Discount (OID) 

Instruments

Form (and Instructions)

cdu(o) Interest and Ordinary 

Dividends

cdu(o) Capital Gains and Losses

U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

U.S. Income Tax Return for Seniors

General Instructions for Certain Information 

Returns

Notice to Shareholder of Undistributed 

Long-Term Capital Gains

Application for Change in Accounting Method

Alternative Minimum Tax — Individuals

Passive Activity Loss Limitations

861 Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned 

Income

8814 Parents' Election To Report Child's Interest and 

Dividends

881 Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. 

Savings Bonds Issued After 1989

8818 Optional Form To Record Redemption of 

Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued 

After 1989

8824 Like-Kind Exchanges

8949 Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets

8960 Net Investment Income Tax—Individuals, 

Estates, and Trusts

See chapter 5, How To Get Tax Help, for information about 

getting these publications and forms.

 525

 537

 590-B

 925

 1212

 Schedule B (Form 1040)

 Schedule D (Form 1040)

 1040

 1040-SR

 1099

 2439

 3115 

 6251 

 8582 

 8615 

 8814 

 8815 

 8818 

 8824 

 8949 

 8960 

General Information

A few items of general interest are covered here.

Recordkeeping. You should keep a list of the 

sources and investment income amounts you receive during the year. Also, keep the forms you receive showing your investment income (Forms 1099-INT, 

Interest Income, and 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions, for example) as an important part of your records.

Net investment income tax (NIIT). You may be subject 

to the NIIT. The NIIT is a 3.8% tax on the lesser of your net 

investment income or the amount of your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) that is over a threshold amount 

based on your filing status.

Filing Status Threshold Amount

Married filing jointly $250,000

Married filing separately $125,000

Single $200,000

Head of household (with qualifying 

person)

$200,000

Qualifying surviving spouse with 

dependent child

$250,000

For more information, see Form 8960, Net Investment 

Income Tax—Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, and the Instructions for Form 8960.

Tax on unearned income of certain children. Generally, a child must file Form 8615 if the child:

1. has more than $2,500 of unearned income;

2. is required to file a tax return;

3. meets certain age/earned-income/self-support 

threshold;

4. has at least one parent alive at the end of the year; 

and

5. doesn’t file a joint return for the year.

See Form 8615 and its instructions for details.

However, the parent can choose to include the child's 

interest and dividends on the parent's return if certain requirements are met. Use Form 8814, Parents’ Election To 

Report Child’s Interest and Dividends, for this purpose.

For more information about the tax on unearned income of children and the parents' election, see Pub. 929, 

Tax Rules for Children and Dependents.

Beneficiary of an estate or trust. Interest, dividends, 

and other investment income you receive as a beneficiary 

of an estate or trust generally is taxable income. You 

should receive a Schedule K-1 (Form 1041), Beneficiary's 

Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc., from the fiduciary. Your copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) and its instructions will tell you where to report the income on your 

Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

RECORDS

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 3
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). You must give 

your name and TIN (either a social security number 

(SSN), an employer identification number (EIN), or an individual tax identification number (ITIN)) to any person required by federal tax law to make a return, statement, or 

other document that relates to you. This includes payers 

of interest and dividends. If you do not give your TIN to the 

payer, you may have to pay a penalty. In addition, if you do 

not provide a certified TIN on Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, the payer 

must backup withhold on your interest payments at a rate 

of 24%. Use Form W-9 to provide the necessary information. See Form W-9 and its instructions.

TIN for joint account. Generally, if the funds in a joint 

account belong to one person, list that person's name first 

on the account and give that person's TIN to the payer. 

(For information on who owns the funds in a joint account, 

see Joint accounts, later.) If the joint account contains 

combined funds, give the TIN of the person whose name 

is listed first on the account. This is because only one 

name and TIN can be shown on Form 1099.

These rules apply both to joint ownership by a married 

couple and to joint ownership by other individuals. For example, if you open a joint savings account with your child 

using funds belonging to the child, list the child's name 

first on the account and give the child's TIN.

Form W-9 and its instructions provide: If this Form W-9 

is for a joint account (other than an account maintained by 

a foreign financial institution (FFI)), list first, and then circle, the name of the person or entity whose number you 

entered in Part I of Form W-9. If you are providing Form 

W-9 to an FFI to document a joint account, each holder of 

the account that is a U.S. person must provide a Form 

W-9. See Form W-9 and its instructions.

Custodian account for your child. If your child is the 

actual owner of an account that is recorded in your name 

as custodian for the child, give the child's TIN to the payer. 

For example, you must give your child's SSN to the payer 

of dividends on stock owned by your child, even though 

the dividends are paid to you as custodian.

Penalty for failure to supply TIN. You may be subject to a penalty if, when required, you fail to:

• Include your TIN on any return, statement, or other 

document;

• Give your TIN to another person who must include it 

on any return, statement, or other document; or

• Include the TIN of another person on any return, statement, or other document.

The penalty is $50 for each failure up to a maximum penalty of $100,000 for any calendar year.

This penalty may be abated if you can show that your 

failure to provide the TIN was due to reasonable cause 

and not to willful neglect.

If you fail to supply a TIN in the manner required, you 

also may be subject to backup withholding.

Backup withholding. Your investment income generally 

is not subject to regular withholding. However, it may be 

subject to backup withholding to ensure that income tax is 

collected on the income. The bank, broker, or other payer 

of interest, original issue discount (OID), dividends, cash 

patronage dividends, or royalties must withhold income 

tax on these reportable payments at a rate of 24% under 

backup withholding.

Backup withholding applies if:

1. You do not give the payer your TIN in the required 

manner;

2. The IRS notifies the payer that you gave an incorrect 

TIN;

3. The IRS notifies the payer that you are subject to 

backup withholding on interest or dividends because 

you underreported interest or dividends on your income tax return; or

4. You are required, but fail, to certify that you are not 

subject to backup withholding for the reason described in (3).

Certification. For new accounts paying interest or dividends, you must certify under penalties of perjury that 

your TIN is correct and that you are not subject to backup 

withholding. Your payer will give you a Form W-9, Request 

for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, or 

similar form, to make this certification. If you fail to make 

this certification, backup withholding may begin immediately on your new account or investment.

Underreported interest and dividends. You will be 

considered to have underreported your interest and dividends if the IRS has determined for a tax year that:

• You failed to include any part of a reportable interest or 

dividend payment required to be shown on your return, or

• You were required to file a return and to include a reportable interest or dividend payment on that return, 

but you failed to file the return.

How to stop backup withholding due to underreporting. If you have been notified that you underreported 

interest or dividends, you can request a determination 

from the IRS to prevent backup withholding from starting 

or to stop backup withholding once it has begun. You must 

show that at least one of the following situations applies.

• No underreporting occurred.

• You have a bona fide dispute with the IRS about 

whether underreporting occurred.

• Backup withholding will cause or is causing an undue 

hardship, and it is unlikely that you will underreport interest and dividends in the future.

• You have corrected the underreporting by filing a return if you did not previously file one and by paying all 

taxes, penalties, and interest due for any underreported interest or dividend payments.

If the IRS determines that backup withholding should 

stop, it will provide you with a certification and will notify 

the payers who were sent notices earlier.

4 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
How to stop backup withholding due to an incorrect TIN. If the IRS notifies a payer that your TIN is incorrect, the payer must contact you and ask you to provide 

your correct TIN. Follow the instructions provided by the 

payer to prevent or stop backup withholding.

Reporting backup withholding. If backup withholding is deducted from your interest or dividend income or 

other reportable payment, the bank or other business 

must give you an information return for the year (for example, a Form 1099-INT) indicating the amount withheld. The 

information return will show any backup withholding as 

“Federal income tax withheld.”

Nonresident aliens. Generally, payments made to 

nonresident aliens are not subject to backup withholding. 

You can use Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status 

of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and 

Reporting (Individuals), to certify exempt status. However, 

this does not exempt you from the 30% (or lower treaty) 

withholding rate that may apply to your investment income. For information on the 30% rate, see Pub. 519, U.S. 

Tax Guide for Aliens.

Penalties. There are civil and criminal penalties for 

giving false information to avoid backup withholding. The 

civil penalty is $500. The criminal penalty, upon conviction, is a fine of up to $1,000, or imprisonment of up to 1 

year, or both.

Where to report investment income. Table 1-1 gives 

an overview of the forms and schedules to use to report 

some common types of investment income. But see the 

rest of this publication for detailed information about reporting investment income.

Joint accounts. If two or more persons hold property 

(such as a savings account, bond, or stock) as joint tenants, tenants by the entirety, or tenants in common, each 

person's share of any interest or dividends from the property is determined by local law.

Community property states. If you are married and receive a distribution that is community income, half of the 

distribution generally is considered to be received by each 

spouse. If you file separate returns, you must each report 

one-half of any taxable distribution. See Pub. 555, Community Property, for more information on community income.

If the distribution is not considered community property 

and you and your spouse file separate returns, each of 

you must report your separate taxable distributions.

Example. You and your spouse have a joint money 

market account. Under state law, half the income from the 

account belongs to you, and half belongs to your spouse. 

If you file separate returns, you each report half the income.

Income from property given to a child. Property you 

give as a parent to your child under the Model Gifts of Securities to Minors Act, the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, or 

any similar law becomes the child's property.

Income from the property is taxable to the child, except 

that any part used to satisfy a legal obligation to support 

the child is taxable to the parent or guardian having that 

legal obligation.

Savings account with parent as trustee. Interest income from a savings account opened for a minor child, 

but placed in the name and subject to the order of the parents as trustees, is taxable to the child if, under the law of 

the state in which the child resides, both of the following 

are true.

• The savings account legally belongs to the child.

• The parents are not legally permitted to use any of the 

funds to support the child.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 5
Where To Report Common Types of Investment Income 

(For detailed information about reporting investment income, see the rest of this publication, especially How 

To Report Interest Income and How To Report Dividend Income in chapter 1.)

Table 1-1. 

Type of Income If you file Form 1040 or 1040-SR, report on ...

Tax-exempt interest Line 2a (See the instructions there.)

Taxable interest Line 2b (See the instructions there.)

Savings bond interest you will exclude because of higher 

education expenses

Schedule B; also use Form 8815

Qualified dividends Line 3a (See the instructions there.)

Ordinary dividends Line 3b (See the instructions there.)

Capital gain distributions Line 7, or, if required, Schedule D, line 13. (See the instructions 

of Form 1040 or 1040-SR.)

Section 1250, 1202, or collectibles gain (Form 1099-DIV, box 2b, 

2c, or 2d)

Form 8949 and Schedule D

Nondividend distributions (Form 1099-DIV, box 3) Generally not reported

Undistributed capital gains (Form 2439, boxes 1a–1d) Schedule D

Gain or loss from sales of stocks or bonds Line 7; also use Form 8949, Schedule D, and the Qualified 

Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet or the Schedule D 

Tax Worksheet

Gain or loss from exchanges of like-kind investment property Line 7; also use Schedule D, Form 8824, and the Qualified 

Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet or the Schedule D 

Tax Worksheet

Accuracy-related penalty. An accuracy-related penalty 

of 20% can be charged for underpayments of tax due to 

negligence or disregard of rules or regulations or substantial understatement of tax. For information on the penalty 

and any interest that applies, see Penalties in chapter 2.

Interest Income

Terms you may need to know 

(see Glossary):

Accrual method

Below-market loan

Cash method

Demand loan

Forgone interest

Gift loan

Interest

Mutual fund

Nominee

Original issue discount

Private activity bond

Term loan

This section discusses the tax treatment of different types 

of interest income.

In general, any interest that you receive or that is credited to your account and can be withdrawn is taxable income. Exceptions to this rule are discussed later.

Form 1099-INT. Interest income generally is reported to 

you on Form 1099-INT, or a similar statement, by banks, 

savings and loan associations, and other payers of interest. This form shows you the interest you received during 

the year. Keep this form for your records. You do not have 

to attach it to your tax return.

Report on your tax return the total interest income you 

receive for the tax year. See the Instructions for Recipient 

of Form 1099-INT to see whether you need to adjust any 

of the amounts reported to you.

Interest not reported on Form 1099-INT. Even if you 

do not receive a Form 1099-INT, you must still report all of 

your interest income. For example, you may receive distributive shares of interest from partnerships or S corporations. This interest is reported to you on Schedule K-1 

(Form 1065), Partner's Share of Income, Deductions, 

Credits, etc., and Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S), Shareholder's Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc.

6 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
Nominees. Generally, if someone receives interest as 

a nominee for you, that person must give you a Form 

1099-INT showing the interest received on your behalf.

If you receive a Form 1099-INT and interest as a nominee for another person, see the discussion on Nominee 

distributions, later.

Incorrect amount. If you receive a Form 1099-INT 

that shows an incorrect amount (or other incorrect information), you should ask the issuer for a corrected form. 

The new Form 1099-INT you receive should be denoted 

“Corrected.”

Form 1099-OID. Reportable interest income also may be 

shown on Form 1099-OID, Original Issue Discount. For 

more information about amounts shown on this form, see 

Original Issue Discount (OID), later in this chapter.

Exempt-interest dividends. Form 1099-DIV, box 12, 

shows exempt-interest dividends from a mutual fund or 

other regulated investment company paid to you during 

the calendar year. See the Instructions for Form 1040 or 

1040-SR for where to report.

Form 1099-DIV, box 13, shows exempt-interest dividends subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT). This 

amount is included in box 12. See the Instructions for 

Form 6251.

Interest on VA dividends. Interest on insurance dividends left on deposit with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is not taxable. This includes interest paid on dividends on converted United States Government Life 

Insurance policies and on National Service Life Insurance 

policies.

Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs). Interest 

on a Roth IRA generally is not taxable. Interest on a traditional IRA is tax deferred. You generally do not include it in 

your income until you make withdrawals from the IRA. See 

Pub. 590-B for more information.

Taxable Interest—General

Taxable interest includes interest you receive from bank 

accounts, loans you make to others, and other sources. 

The following are some sources of taxable interest.

Dividends that are actually interest. Certain distributions commonly called dividends are actually interest. You 

must report as interest so-called “dividends” on deposits 

or on share accounts in:

• Cooperative banks,

• Credit unions,

• Domestic building and loan associations,

• Domestic savings and loan associations,

• Federal savings and loan associations, and

• Mutual savings banks.

The “dividends” will be shown as interest income on Form 

1099-INT.

Money market funds. Money market funds are offered 

by nonbank financial institutions such as mutual funds and 

stock brokerage houses, and pay dividends. Generally, 

amounts you receive from money market funds should be 

reported as dividends, not as interest.

Certificates of deposit and other deferred interest accounts. If you buy a certificate of deposit or open a deferred interest account, interest may be paid at fixed intervals 

of 1 year or less during the term of the account. You generally must include this interest in your income when you 

actually receive it or are entitled to receive it without paying a substantial penalty. The same is true for accounts 

that mature in 1 year or less and pay interest in a single 

payment at maturity. If interest is deferred for more than 1 

year, see Original Issue Discount (OID), later.

Interest subject to penalty for early withdrawal. If 

you withdraw funds from a deferred interest account before maturity, you may have to pay a penalty. You must report the total amount of interest paid or credited to your 

account during the year without subtracting the penalty. 

See Penalty on early withdrawal of savings, later, for more 

information on how to report the interest and deduct the 

penalty.

Money borrowed to invest in certificate of deposit. 

The interest you pay on money borrowed from a bank or 

savings institution to meet the minimum deposit required 

for a certificate of deposit from the institution and the interest you earn on the certificate are two separate items. You 

must report the total interest you earn on the certificate in 

your income. If you itemize deductions, you can deduct 

the interest you pay as investment interest, up to the 

amount of your net investment income. See Interest Expenses in chapter 3.

Example. You purchase a $10,000 certificate of deposit by borrowing $5,000 from the bank and adding an 

additional $5,000 of your funds. The certificate earned 

$575 at maturity in 2023, but you received only $265, 

which represented the $575 you earned minus $310 interest charged on your $5,000 loan. The bank gives you a 

Form 1099-INT for 2023 showing the $575 interest you 

earned. The bank also gives you a statement showing that 

you paid $310 interest for 2023. You must include the 

$575 in your income. If you itemize your deductions on 

Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions, you can 

deduct $310, subject to the net investment income limit.

Gift for opening account. If you receive noncash gifts or 

services for making deposits or for opening an account in 

a savings institution, the value may be reported to you as 

interest income on Form 1099-INT and you may have to 

report it on your tax return.

For deposits of less than $5,000, gifts or services valued at more than $10 must be reported as interest. For 

deposits of $5,000 or more, gifts or services valued at 

more than $20 must be reported as interest. The value is 

determined by the cost to the financial institution.

Example. You open a savings account at your local 

bank and deposit $800. The account earns $20 interest. 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 7
You also receive a $15 calculator. If no other interest is 

credited to your account during the year, the Form 

1099-INT you receive will show $35 interest for the year. 

You must report $35 interest income on your tax return.

Interest on insurance dividends. Interest on insurance 

dividends left on deposit with an insurance company that 

can be withdrawn annually is taxable to you in the year it is 

credited to your account. However, if you can withdraw it 

only on the anniversary date of the policy (or other specified date), the interest is taxable in the year that date occurs.

Prepaid insurance premiums. Any increase in the value 

of prepaid insurance premiums, advance premiums, or 

premium deposit funds is interest if it is applied to the payment of premiums due on insurance policies or made 

available for you to withdraw.

U.S. obligations. Interest on U.S. obligations, such as 

U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds, and obligations issued by any agency or instrumentality of the United States 

is taxable for federal income tax purposes.

Interest on tax refunds. Interest you receive on tax refunds is taxable income.

Interest on condemnation award. If the condemning 

authority pays you interest to compensate you for a delay 

in payment of an award, the interest is taxable.

Installment sale payments. If a contract for the sale or 

exchange of property provides for deferred payments, it 

also usually provides for interest payable with the deferred 

payments. Generally, that interest is taxable when you receive it. If little or no interest is provided for in a deferred 

payment contract, part of each payment may be treated as 

interest. See Unstated Interest and Original Issue Discount (OID) in Pub. 537.

Interest on annuity contract. Accumulated interest on 

an annuity contract you sell before its maturity date is taxable.

Usurious interest. Usurious interest is interest charged 

at an illegal rate. This is taxable as interest unless state 

law automatically changes it to a payment on the principal.

Interest income on frozen deposits. Exclude from your 

gross income interest on frozen deposits. A deposit is frozen if, at the end of the year, you cannot withdraw any part 

of the deposit because:

• The financial institution is bankrupt or insolvent, or

• The state in which the institution is located has placed 

limits on withdrawals because other financial institutions in the state are, or may become, bankrupt or insolvent.

The amount of interest you must exclude is the interest 

that was credited on the frozen deposits minus the sum of:

• The net amount you withdrew from these deposits 

during the year, and

• The amount you could have withdrawn as of the end 

of the year (not reduced by any penalty for premature 

withdrawals of a time deposit).

If you receive a Form 1099-INT for interest income on deposits that were frozen at the end of 2023, see Frozen deposits, later, for information about reporting this interest income exclusion on your tax return.

The interest you exclude is treated as credited to your 

account in the following year. You must include it in income in the year you can withdraw it.

Example. $100 of interest was credited on your frozen 

deposit during the year. You withdrew $80 but could not 

withdraw any more as of the end of the year. You must include $80 in your income and exclude $20 from your income for the year. You must include the $20 in your income for the year you can withdraw it.

Bonds traded flat. If you buy a bond at a discount when 

interest has been defaulted or when the interest has accrued but has not been paid, the transaction is described 

as trading a bond flat. The defaulted or unpaid interest is 

not income and is not taxable as interest if paid later. 

When you receive a payment of that interest, it is a return 

of capital that reduces the remaining cost basis of your 

bond. Interest that accrues after the date of purchase, 

however, is taxable interest income for the year received 

or accrued. See Bonds Sold Between Interest Dates, later 

in this chapter.

Below-Market Loans

Generally, a “below-market loan” means any loan if (a) in 

the case of a demand loan, interest is payable on the loan 

at a rate less than the applicable federal rate, or (b) in the 

case of a term loan, the amount loaned exceeds the 

present value (using a discount rate equal to the applicable federal rate) of all payments due under the loan. (See 

Code section 7872 for details.) Section 7872 may consider the borrower to pay the lender any forgone interest 

and the lender to pay that foregone interest to the borrower. (See Code section 7872.) Thus, the lender may be 

compelled to recognize that foregone interest as income 

and the borrower may be able to deduct that foregone interest as an expense if the loan proceeds are used for 

business or investment. The nature of the forgone interest 

that section 7872 considers the lender to return to the borrower depends on the relationship between lender and 

borrower. It may be considered a gift, an investment, compensation, etc. (See Code section 7872 for details.)

Loans subject to the rules. The rules for below-market 

loans apply to:

• Gift loans,

• Compensation-related loans,

• Corporation-shareholder loans,

• Tax avoidance loans, and

• Certain loans made to qualified continuing care facilities under a continuing care contract.

8 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
A compensation-related loan is any below-market loan 

between an employer and an employee or between an independent contractor and a person for whom the contractor provides services.

A tax avoidance loan is any below-market loan where 

the avoidance of federal tax is one of the main purposes of 

the interest arrangement.

Forgone interest. For any period, forgone interest is:

• The amount of interest that would be payable for that 

period if interest accrued on the loan at the applicable 

federal rate and was payable annually on December 

31, minus

• Any interest actually payable on the loan for the period.

Applicable federal rate. Applicable federal rates are 

published by the IRS each month in the Internal Revenue 

Bulletin. The Internal Revenue Bulletin is available through 

IRS.gov/IRB. You also can find applicable federal rates in 

the Index of Applicable Federal Rates (AFR) Rulings at 

https://irs.gov/applicable-federal-rates.

See chapter 5, How To Get Tax Help, for other ways to 

get this information.

Rules for below-market loans. The rules that apply to a 

below-market loan depend on whether the loan is a gift 

loan, demand loan, or term loan.

Gift and demand loans. A gift loan is any below-market loan where the forgone interest is in the nature of a gift.

A demand loan is a loan payable in full at any time upon 

demand by the lender. A demand loan is a below-market 

loan if no interest is charged or if interest is charged at a 

rate below the applicable federal rate.

A demand loan or gift loan that is a below-market loan 

generally is treated as an arm's-length transaction in 

which the lender is treated as having made:

• A loan to the borrower in exchange for a note that requires the payment of interest at the applicable federal 

rate, and

• An additional payment to the borrower in an amount 

equal to the forgone interest.

The borrower generally is treated as transferring the additional payment back to the lender as interest. The lender 

must report that amount as interest income.

The lender's additional payment to the borrower is treated as a gift, dividend, contribution to capital, pay for services, or other payment, depending on the substance of the 

transaction. The borrower may have to report this payment 

as taxable income, depending on its classification.

These transfers are considered to occur annually, generally on December 31.

Term loans. A term loan is any loan that is not a demand loan. A term loan is a below-market loan if the 

amount of the loan is more than the present value of all 

payments due under the loan.

A lender who makes a below-market term loan other 

than a gift loan is treated as transferring an additional 

lump-sum cash payment to the borrower (as a dividend, 

contribution to capital, etc.) on the date the loan is made. 

The amount of this payment is the amount of the loan minus the present value, at the applicable federal rate, of all 

payments due under the loan. An equal amount is treated 

as original issue discount (OID). The lender must report 

the annual part of the OID as interest income. The borrower may be able to deduct the OID as interest expense. 

See Original Issue Discount (OID), later.

Exceptions to the below-market loan rules. Exceptions to the below-market loan rules are discussed here.

Exception for loans of $10,000 or less. The rules for 

below-market loans do not apply to any day on which the 

total outstanding amount of loans between the borrower 

and lender is $10,000 or less. This exception applies only 

to:

1. Gift loans between individuals if the gift loan is not directly used to buy or carry income-producing assets, 

and

2. Compensation-related loans or corporation-shareholder loans if the avoidance of federal tax is not a 

principal purpose of the interest arrangement.

This exception does not apply to term loans. The general below-market loan rules will continue to apply even if 

the outstanding balance is reduced to $10,000 or less.

Exception for loans to continuing care facilities. 

Loans to qualified continuing care facilities under continuing care contracts are not subject to the rules for below-market loans for the calendar year if the lender or the 

lender's spouse is age 65 or older at the end of the year. 

For the definitions of qualified continuing care facility and 

continuing care contract, see Internal Revenue Code 

7872(g)(4) and (h).

Exception for loans without significant tax effect. 

Loans are excluded from the below-market loan rules if 

their interest arrangements do not have a significant effect 

on the federal tax liability of the borrower or the lender. 

These loans include:

1. Loans made available by the lender to the general 

public on the same terms and conditions that are consistent with the lender's customary business practice;

2. Loans subsidized by a federal, state, or municipal 

government that are made available under a program 

of general application to the public;

3. Certain employee-relocation loans;

4. Certain loans to or from a foreign person;

5. Gift loans to a charitable organization, contributions to 

which are deductible, if the total outstanding amount 

of loans between the organization and lender is 

$250,000 or less at all times during the tax year; and

6. Other loans on which the interest arrangement can be 

shown to have no significant effect on the federal tax 

liability of the lender or the borrower.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 9
For a loan described in (6) above, all the facts and circumstances are used to determine if the interest arrangement has a significant effect on the federal tax liability of 

the lender or borrower. Some factors to be considered 

are:

• Whether items of income and deduction generated by 

the loan offset each other;

• The amount of these items;

• The cost to you of complying with the below-market 

loan rules, if they were to apply; and

• Any reasons other than taxes for structuring the transaction as a below-market loan.

If you structure a transaction to meet this exception and 

one of the principal purposes of that structure is the avoidance of federal tax, the loan will be considered a 

tax-avoidance loan, and this exception will not apply.

Limit on forgone interest for gift loans of $100,000 

or less. For gift loans between individuals, if the outstanding loans between the lender and borrower total 

$100,000 or less, the forgone interest to be included in income by the lender and deducted by the borrower is limited to the amount of the borrower's net investment income 

for the year. If the borrower's net investment income is 

$1,000 or less, it is treated as zero. This limit does not apply to a loan if the avoidance of federal tax is one of the 

main purposes of the interest arrangement.

U.S. Savings Bonds

This section provides tax information on U.S. savings 

bonds. It explains how to report the interest income on 

these bonds and how to treat transfers of these bonds.

U.S. savings bonds currently offered to individuals include Series EE bonds and Series I bonds.

For information about U.S. savings bonds, go to 

www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/. Also, go 

to www.treasurydirect.gov/contact-us/ and click 

on a topic to find answers to your questions by email.

If you prefer, write to:

Treasury Retail Securities Services

P.O. Box 9150

Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150

Accrual method taxpayers. If you use an accrual 

method of accounting, you must report interest on U.S. 

savings bonds each year as it accrues. You cannot postpone reporting interest until you receive it or until the 

bonds mature.

Cash method taxpayers. If you use the cash method of 

accounting, as most individual taxpayers do, you generally 

report the interest on U.S. savings bonds when you receive it. But see Reporting options for cash method taxpayers, later.

Series H and HH bonds. These bonds were issued at 

face value in exchange for other savings bonds.

Series HH bonds were issued between 1980 and 2004. 

They mature 20 years after issue. Series HH bonds that 

have not matured pay interest twice a year, usually by direct deposit to your bank account. If you are a cash 

method taxpayer, you must report this interest as income 

in the year you receive it.

Series H bonds were issued before 1980. All Series H 

bonds have matured and are no longer earning interest.

In addition to the twice-a-year interest payments, most 

H/HH bonds also have a deferred interest component.

Series EE and Series I bonds. Interest on these bonds 

is payable when you redeem the bonds. The difference 

between the purchase price and the redemption value is 

taxable interest.

Series E and EE bonds. Series E bonds were issued 

before 1980. All Series E bonds have matured and are no 

longer earning interest. Series EE bonds were first offered 

in January 1980 and have a maturity period of 30 years; 

they were offered in paper (definitive) form until 2012. Paper Series EE and Series E bonds were issued at a discount and increase in value as they earn interest. Electronic (book-entry) Series EE bonds were first offered in 

2003; they are issued at face value and increase in value 

as they earn interest. For all Series E and Series EE 

bonds, the purchase price plus all accrued interest is payable to you at redemption.

Series I bonds. Series I bonds were first offered in 

1998. These are inflation-indexed bonds issued at face 

value with a maturity period of 30 years. Series I bonds increase in value as they earn interest. The face value plus 

all accrued interest is payable to you at redemption.

Reporting options for cash method taxpayers. If 

you use the cash method of reporting income, you can report the interest on Series EE, Series E, and Series I 

bonds in either of the following ways.

1. Method 1. Postpone reporting the interest until the 

earlier of the year you cash or dispose of the bonds or 

the year in which they mature. (However, see Savings 

bonds traded, later.)

Note. Series EE bonds issued in 1993 matured in 

2023. If you have used method 1, you generally must 

report the interest on these bonds on your 2023 return.

2. Method 2. Choose to report the increase in redemption value as interest each year.

You must use the same method for all Series EE and Series I bonds you own. If you do not choose method 2 by reporting the increase in redemption value as interest each 

year, you must use method 1.

If you plan to cash your bonds in the same year 

you will pay for higher education expenses, you 

may want to use method 1 because you may be 

able to exclude the interest from your income. To learn 

how, see Education Savings Bond Program, later.

TIP

10 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
Change from method 1. If you want to change your 

method of reporting the interest from method 1 to method 

2, you can do so without permission from the IRS. In the 

year of change, you must report all interest accrued to 

date and not previously reported for all your bonds.

Once you choose to report the interest each year, you 

must continue to do so for all Series EE, Series E, and 

Series I bonds you own and for any you get later, unless 

you request permission to change, as explained next.

Change from method 2. To change from method 2 to 

method 1, you must request permission from the IRS. Permission for the change is automatically granted if you 

send the IRS a statement that meets all the following requirements.

1. You have typed or printed the following number at the 

top: “131.”

2. It includes your name and social security number under “131.”

3. It includes the year of change (both the beginning and 

ending dates).

4. It identifies the savings bonds for which you are requesting this change.

5. It includes your agreement to:

a. Report all interest on any bonds acquired during 

or after the year of change when the interest is realized upon disposition, redemption, or final maturity, whichever is earliest; and

b. Report all interest on the bonds acquired before 

the year of change when the interest is realized 

upon disposition, redemption, or final maturity, 

whichever is earliest, with the exception of the interest reported in prior tax years.

You must attach this statement to your tax return for the 

year of change, which you must file by the due date (including extensions).

You can have an automatic extension of 6 months from 

the due date of your return for the year of change (excluding extensions) to file the statement with an amended return. On the statement, type or print “Filed pursuant to 

section 301.9100-2.” To get this extension, you must have 

filed your original return for the year of the change by the 

due date (including extensions). See also Revenue Procedure 2015-13, Section 6.03(4).

Instead of filing this statement, you can request permission to change from method 2 to method 1 by filing Form 

3115. In that case, follow the form instructions for an automatic change. No user fee is required.

Co-owners. If a U.S. savings bond is issued in the names 

of co-owners, such as you and your child or you and your 

spouse, interest on the bond generally is taxable to the 

co-owner who bought the bond.

One co-owner's funds used. If you used your funds 

to buy the bond, you must pay the tax on the interest. This 

is true even if you let the other co-owner redeem the bond 

and keep all the proceeds. Under these circumstances, 

the co-owner who redeemed the bond will receive a Form 

1099-INT at the time of redemption and must provide you 

with another Form 1099-INT showing the amount of interest from the bond taxable to you. The co-owner who redeemed the bond is a “nominee.” See Nominee distributions, later, for more information about how a person who 

is a nominee reports interest income belonging to another 

person.

Both co-owners' funds used. If you and the other 

co-owner each contribute part of the bond's purchase 

price, the interest generally is taxable to each of you in 

proportion to the amount each of you paid.

Community property. If you and your spouse live in a 

community property state and hold bonds as community 

property, one-half of the interest is considered received by 

each of you. If you file separate returns, each of you generally must report one-half of the bond interest. For more 

information about community property, see Pub. 555.

Table 1-2. These rules are also shown in Table 1-2.

Child as only owner. Interest on U.S. savings bonds 

bought for and registered only in the name of your child is 

income to your child, even if you paid for the bonds and 

are named as beneficiary. If the bonds are Series EE or 

Series I bonds, the interest on the bonds is income to your 

child in the earlier of the year the bonds are cashed or disposed of or the year the bonds mature, unless your child 

chooses to report the interest income each year.

Choice to report interest each year. The choice to 

report the accrued interest each year can be made either 

by your child or by you for your child. This choice is made 

by filing an income tax return that shows all the interest 

earned to date, and by stating on the return that your child 

chooses to report the interest each year. Either you or 

your child should keep a copy of this return.

Unless your child is otherwise required to file a tax return for any year after making this choice, your child does 

not have to file a return only to report the annual accrual of 

U.S. savings bond interest under this choice. However, 

see Tax on unearned income of certain children, earlier, 

under General Information. Neither you nor your child can 

change the way you report the interest unless you request 

permission from the IRS, as discussed earlier under 

Change from method 2.

Ownership transferred. If you bought Series EE or Series I bonds entirely with your own funds and had them reissued in your co-owner's name or beneficiary's name 

alone, you must include in your gross income for the year 

of reissue all interest that you earned on these bonds and 

have not previously reported. But, if the bonds were reissued in your name alone, you do not have to report the interest accrued at that time.

This same rule applies when bonds (other than bonds 

held as community property) are transferred between 

spouses or incident to divorce.

Example. You bought Series EE bonds entirely with 

your own funds. You did not choose to report the accrued 

interest each year. Later, you transfer the bonds to your 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 11
former spouse under a divorce agreement. You must include the deferred accrued interest, from the date of the 

original issue of the bonds to the date of transfer, in your 

income in the year of transfer. Your former spouse includes in income the interest on the bonds from the date 

of transfer to the date of redemption.

Who Pays the Tax on U.S. Savings 

Bond Interest

Table 1-2. 

IF ... THEN the interest must be 

reported by ...

you buy a bond in your name and 

the name of another person as 

co-owners, using only your own 

funds

you.

you buy a bond in the name of 

another person, who is the sole 

owner of the bond

the person for whom you bought 

the bond.

you and another person buy a 

bond as co-owners, each 

contributing part of the purchase 

price

both you and the other co-owner, 

in proportion to the amount each 

paid for the bond.

you and your spouse, who live in 

a community property state, buy a 

bond that is community property.

you and your spouse. If you file 

separate returns, both you and 

your spouse generally report half 

of the interest.

Purchased jointly. If you and a co-owner each contributed funds to buy Series E, Series EE, or Series I 

bonds jointly and later have the bonds reissued in the 

co-owner's name alone, you must include in your gross income for the year of reissue your share of all the interest 

earned on the bonds that you have not previously reported. The former co-owner does not have to include in 

gross income at the time of reissue his or her share of the 

interest earned that was not reported before the transfer. 

This interest, however, as well as all interest earned after 

the reissue, is income to the former co-owner.

This income-reporting rule also applies when the bonds 

are reissued in the name of your former co-owner and a 

new co-owner. But the new co-owner will report only his or 

her share of the interest earned after the transfer.

If bonds that you and a co-owner bought jointly are reissued to each of you separately in the same proportion as 

your contribution to the purchase price, neither you nor 

your co-owner has to report at that time the interest 

earned before the bonds were reissued.

Example 1. You and your spouse each spent an equal 

amount to buy a $1,000 Series EE savings bond. The 

bond was issued to you and your spouse as co-owners. 

You both postpone reporting interest on the bond. You 

later have the bond reissued as two $500 bonds, one in 

your name and one in your spouse's name. At that time 

neither you nor your spouse has to report the interest 

earned to the date of reissue.

Example 2. You bought a $1,000 Series EE savings 

bond entirely with your own funds. The bond was issued 

to you and your spouse as co-owners. You both postponed reporting interest on the bond. You later have the 

bond reissued as two $500 bonds, one in your name and 

one in your spouse's name. You must report half the interest earned to the date of reissue.

Transfer to a trust. If you own Series E, Series EE, or 

Series I bonds and transfer them to a trust, giving up all 

rights of ownership, you must include in your income for 

that year the interest earned to the date of transfer if you 

have not already reported it. However, if you are considered the owner of the trust and if the increase in value 

both before and after the transfer continues to be taxable 

to you, you can continue to defer reporting the interest 

earned each year. You must include the total interest in 

your income in the year you cash or dispose of the bonds 

or the year the bonds finally mature, whichever is earlier.

The same rules apply to previously unreported interest 

on Series EE or Series E bonds if the transfer to a trust 

consisted of Series HH or Series H bonds you acquired in 

a trade for the Series EE or Series E bonds. See Savings 

bonds traded, later.

Decedents. The manner of reporting interest income on 

Series E, Series EE, or Series I bonds, after the death of 

the owner (decedent), depends on the accounting and income-reporting methods previously used by the decedent.

Decedent who reported interest each year. If the 

bonds transferred because of death were owned by a person who used an accrual method, or who used the cash 

method and had chosen to report the interest each year, 

the interest earned in the year of death up to the date of 

death must be reported on that person's final return. The 

person who acquires the bonds includes in income only 

interest earned after the date of death.

Decedent who postponed reporting interest. If the 

transferred bonds were owned by a decedent who had 

used the cash method and had not chosen to report the 

interest each year, and who had bought the bonds entirely 

with his or her own funds, all interest earned before death 

must be reported in one of the following ways.

1. The surviving spouse or personal representative (executor, administrator, etc.) who files the final income 

tax return of the decedent can choose to include on 

that return all interest earned on the bonds before the 

decedent's death. The person who acquires the 

bonds then includes in income only interest earned 

after the date of death.

2. If the choice in (1) is not made, the interest earned up 

to the date of death is income in respect of the decedent and should not be included in the decedent's final return. All interest earned both before and after the 

decedent's death (except any part reported by the estate on its income tax return) is income to the person 

who acquires the bonds. If that person uses the cash 

method and does not choose to report the interest 

each year, he or she can postpone reporting it until 

the year the bonds are cashed or disposed of or the 

year they mature, whichever is earlier. In the year that 

person reports the interest, he or she can claim a 

12 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
deduction for any federal estate tax paid on the part of 

the interest included in the decedent's estate.

For more information on income in respect of a decedent, 

see Pub. 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators.

Example 1. Your uncle, a cash method taxpayer, died 

and left you a $1,000 Series EE bond. He had bought the 

bond for $500 and had not chosen to report the interest 

each year. At the date of death, interest of $200 had accrued on the bond, and its value of $700 was included in 

your uncle's estate. Your uncle's executor chose not to include the $200 accrued interest in your uncle's final income tax return. The $200 is income in respect of the decedent.

You are a cash method taxpayer and do not choose to 

report the interest each year as it is earned. If you cash 

the bond when it reaches a value of $1,000, you report 

$500 interest income—the difference between the value of 

$1,000 and the original cost of $500.

Example 2. If, in Example 1, the executor had chosen 

to include the $200 accrued interest in your uncle's final 

return, you would report only $300 as interest when you 

cashed the bond. $300 is the interest earned after your 

uncle's death.

Example 3. If, in Example 1, you make or have made 

the choice to report the increase in redemption value as 

interest each year, you include in gross income for the 

year you acquire the bond all of the unreported increase in 

value of all Series E, Series EE, and Series I bonds you 

hold, including the $200 on the bond you inherited from 

your uncle.

Example 4. When your aunt died, she owned Series 

HH bonds that she had acquired in a trade for Series EE 

bonds. You were the beneficiary of these bonds. Your aunt 

used the cash method and did not choose to report the interest on the Series EE bonds each year as it accrued. 

Your aunt's executor chose not to include any interest 

earned before your aunt's death on her final return.

The income in respect of the decedent is the sum of the 

unreported interest on the Series EE bonds and the interest, if any, payable on the Series HH bonds but not received as of the date of your aunt's death. You must report 

any interest received during the year as income on your 

return. The part of the interest payable but not received 

before your aunt's death is income in respect of the decedent and may qualify for the estate tax deduction. For information on when to report the interest on the Series EE 

bonds traded, see Savings bonds traded, later.

Savings bonds distributed from a retirement or 

profit-sharing plan. If you acquire a U.S. savings bond 

in a taxable distribution from a retirement or profit-sharing 

plan, your income for the year of distribution includes the 

bond's redemption value (its cost plus the interest accrued 

before the distribution). When you redeem the bond 

(whether in the year of distribution or later), your interest 

income includes only the interest accrued after the bond 

was distributed. To figure the interest reported as a taxable distribution and your interest income when you redeem the bond, see Worksheet for savings bonds distributed from a retirement or profit-sharing plan, later.

Savings bonds traded. Prior to September 2004, you 

could trade (exchange) Series E or EE bonds for Series H 

or HH bonds. At the time of the trade, you had the choice 

to postpone (defer) reporting the interest which had been 

earned on your Series E or EE bonds until the Series H or 

HH bonds received in the trade were redeemed or matured. Any cash you received in the transaction was income up to the amount of the interest that had accrued on 

the Series E or EE bonds. The amount of income that you 

chose to postpone reporting was recorded on the face of 

the Series H or HH bonds as "Deferred Interest"; this 

amount is also equal to the difference between the redemption value of the Series H or HH bonds and your 

cost. Your cost is the sum of the amount you paid for the 

exchanged Series E or EE bonds plus any amount you 

had to pay at the time of the transaction.

Example. You traded Series EE bonds that cost you 

$2,200 (on which you postponed reporting the interest) for 

$2,500 in Series HH bonds and $223 in cash. At the time 

of the trade, the Series EE bonds had accrued interest of 

$523 and a redemption value of $2,723.

You reported the $223 as taxable income on your tax 

return.

You hold the Series HH bonds until maturity, when you 

receive $2,500. You must report $300 as interest income 

in the year of maturity. This is the difference between their 

redemption value, $2,500, and your cost, $2,200 (the 

amount you paid for the Series EE bonds).

Note. The $300 amount that is reportable upon redemption or maturity may be found on the face of the Series HH bond as “Deferred Interest.” If more than one Series HH bond is received in the exchange, the total amount 

of interest postponed/deferred in the transaction is divided 

proportionately among the Series HH bonds.

Choice to report interest in year of trade. You could 

have chosen to treat all of the previously unreported accrued interest on Series EE bonds traded for Series HH 

bonds as income in the year of the trade. If you made this 

choice, it is treated as a change from method 1. See 

Change from method 1, earlier.

Note. If you chose to report all of the previously unreported interest in the year of the trade, then there would 

be the no "Deferred Interest" recorded on the face of the 

new bond.

Note. The subsequent annual interest earnings on the 

Series HH bonds received in the exchange would be paid 

and reported annually by Treasury regardless of whether 

the previously accrued interest was further deferred or reported in the year of the exchange.

Form 1099-INT for U.S. savings bond interest. You 

may receive a Form 1099-INT when you redeem a bond. 

Box 3 of your Form 1099-INT should show the interest as 

the difference between the amount you received and the 

amount paid for the bond. However, your Form 1099-INT 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 13
may show more interest than you have to include on your 

income tax return. For example, this may happen if any of 

the following are true.

• You chose to report the increase in the redemption 

value of the bond each year. The interest shown on 

your Form 1099-INT will not be reduced by amounts 

previously included in income.

• You received the bond from a decedent. The interest 

shown on your Form 1099-INT will not be reduced by 

any interest reported by the decedent before death, or 

on the decedent's final return, or by the estate on the 

estate's income tax return.

• Ownership of the bond was transferred. The interest 

shown on your Form 1099-INT will not be reduced by 

interest that accrued before the transfer.

Note. This is true for paper bonds. Treasury reporting process for electronic bonds is more refined. If 

Treasury is aware that the transfer of an electronic 

savings bond is a reportable event, then the transferor 

will receive a 1099-INT for the year of the transfer for 

the interest accrued up to the time of the transfer; 

when the transferee later disposes of the bond (redemption, maturity, or further transfer), the transferee 

will receive a 1099-INT showing interest accrued reduced by the amount reported to the transferor at the 

time of the original transfer.

• You were named as a co-owner, and the other 

co-owner contributed funds to buy the bond. The interest shown on your Form 1099-INT will not be reduced 

by the amount you received as nominee for the other 

co-owner. (See Co-owners, earlier, for more information about the reporting requirements.)

• You received the bond in a taxable distribution from a 

retirement or profit-sharing plan. The interest shown 

on your Form 1099-INT will not be reduced by the interest portion of the amount taxable as a distribution 

from the plan and not taxable as interest. (This 

amount generally is shown on Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or 

Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., 

for the year of distribution.)

For more information on including the correct amount of 

interest on your return, see U.S. savings bond interest previously reported or Nominee distributions, later.

Interest on U.S. savings bonds is exempt from 

state and local taxes. The Form 1099-INT you receive will indicate the amount that is for U.S. savings bonds interest in box 3. Do not include this income on 

your state or local income tax return.

Education Savings Bond Program

You may be able to exclude from income all or part of the 

interest you receive on the redemption of qualified U.S. 

savings bonds during the year if you pay qualified higher 

education expenses during the same year. This exclusion 

is known as the Education Savings Bond Program.

TIP

You do not qualify for this exclusion if your filing status 

is married filing separately.

Form 8815. Use Form 8815 to figure your exclusion. Attach the form to your Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Qualified U.S. savings bonds. A qualified U.S. savings 

bond is a Series EE bond issued after 1989 or a Series I 

bond. The bond must be issued either in your name (sole 

owner) or in your and your spouse's names (co-owners). 

You must be at least 24 years old before the bond's issue 

date. For example, a bond bought by a parent and issued 

in the name of his or her child under age 24 does not qualify for the exclusion by the parent or child.

The issue date of a bond may be earlier than the 

date the bond is purchased because the issue 

date assigned to a bond is the first day of the 

month in which it is purchased.

Beneficiary. You can designate any individual (including a child) as a beneficiary of the bond.

Verification by IRS. If you claim the exclusion, the IRS 

will check it by using bond redemption information from 

the Department of Treasury.

Qualified expenses. Qualified higher educational expenses are tuition and fees required for you, your spouse, 

or your dependent to attend an eligible educational institution.

Qualified expenses include any contribution you make 

to a qualified tuition program or to a Coverdell education 

savings account. For information about these programs, 

see Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education.

Qualified expenses do not include expenses for room 

and board or for courses involving sports, games, or hobbies that are not part of a degree or certificate granting 

program.

Eligible educational institutions. These institutions 

include most public, private, and nonprofit universities, 

colleges, and vocational schools that are accredited and 

eligible to participate in student aid programs run by the 

Department of Education.

Reduction for certain benefits. You must reduce 

your qualified higher educational expenses by all of the 

following tax-free benefits.

1. Tax-free part of scholarships and fellowships.

2. Expenses used to figure the tax-free portion of distributions from a Coverdell ESA.

3. Expenses used to figure the tax-free portion of distributions from a qualified tuition program.

4. Any tax-free payments (other than gifts or inheritances) received as educational assistance, such as:

a. Veterans' educational assistance benefits,

b. Qualified tuition reductions, or

c. Employer-provided educational assistance.

CAUTION

!

14 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
5. Any expense used in figuring the American Opportunity and lifetime learning credits.

For information about these benefits, see Pub. 970.

Amount excludable. If the total proceeds (interest and 

principal) from the qualified U.S. savings bonds you redeem during the year are not more than your adjusted 

qualified higher educational expenses for the year, you 

may be able to exclude all of the interest. If the proceeds 

are more than the expenses, you may be able to exclude 

only part of the interest.

To determine the excludable amount, multiply the interest part of the proceeds by a fraction. The numerator (top 

part) of the fraction is the qualified higher educational expenses you paid during the year. The denominator (bottom part) of the fraction is the total proceeds you received 

during the year.

Example. J and L, a married couple, paid $5,000.00 

for a $10,000 denominated Series EE U.S. Savings Bond 

in January 2007. J and L redeemed (cashed in) the bond 

in January 2023 for $8,848.00 ($5,000.00 investment + 

$3,848.00 interest). J and L paid $4,000.00 of their child's 

college tuition in 2023. J and L are not claiming any credit 

for that amount and their child does not receive any 

tax-free educational assistance.

To determine the excludable amount, J and L multiply 

the interest part of the proceeds ($3,848.00) by a fraction. 

The numerator (top part) of the fraction is the qualified 

higher educational expenses paid during the year 

($4,000.00). The denominator (bottom part) of the fraction 

is the total proceeds received during the year ($8,848.00).

Thus, J and L can exclude $3,848.00 x 

($4,000.00/$8,848.00) = $1,739.60.

U.S. Treasury Bills,

Notes, and Bonds

Treasury bills, notes, and bonds are direct debts (obligations) of the U.S. government.

Taxation of interest. Interest income from Treasury bills, 

notes, and bonds is subject to federal income tax but is 

exempt from all state and local income taxes. You should 

receive Form 1099-INT showing the interest (in box 3) 

paid to you for the year.

Treasury bills. These bills generally have a 4-week, 

8-week, 13-week, 26-week, or 52-week maturity period. 

They generally are issued at a discount in the amount of 

$100 and multiples of $100. The difference between the 

discounted price you pay for the bills and the face value 

you receive at maturity is interest income. Generally, you 

report this interest income when the bill is paid at maturity. 

If you paid a premium for a bill (more than face value), you 

generally report the premium as a section 171 deduction 

when the bill is paid at maturity. See Discount on 

Short-Term Obligations, later.

If you reinvest your Treasury bill at its maturity in a new 

Treasury bill, note, or bond, you will receive payment for 

the difference between the proceeds of the maturing bill 

(par amount less any tax withheld) and the purchase price 

of the new Treasury security. However, you must report the 

full amount of the interest income on each of your Treasury bills at the time it reaches maturity.

Treasury notes and bonds. Treasury notes have maturity periods of at least 1 year, ranging up to 10 years. Maturity periods for Treasury bonds are generally longer than 

10 years. Both generally are issued in denominations of 

$100 to $1 million and both generally pay interest every 6 

months. Generally, you report this interest for the year 

paid. When the notes or bonds mature, you can redeem 

these securities for face value or use the proceeds from 

the maturing note or bond to reinvest in another note or 

bond of the same type and term.

Treasury notes and bonds are sold by auction. Two 

types of bids are accepted: competitive bids and noncompetitive bids. If you make a competitive bid and a determination is made that the purchase price is less than the 

face value, you will receive a refund for the difference between the purchase price and the face value. This amount 

is considered original issue discount. However, the original issue discount rules (discussed later) do not apply if 

the discount is less than one-fourth of 1% (0.0025) of the 

face amount, multiplied by the number of full years from 

the date of original issue to maturity. See De minimis OID, 

later. If the purchase price is determined to be more than 

the face amount, the difference is a premium. (See Bond 

Premium Amortization in chapter 3.)

For other information on these notes or bonds, 

write to:

Treasury Retail Securities Services

P.O. Box 9150

Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150

Or, on the Internet, visit www.treasurydirect.gov.

Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS). These 

securities pay interest twice a year at a fixed rate, based 

on a principal amount adjusted to take into account inflation and deflation. For the tax treatment of these securities, see Inflation-Indexed Debt Instruments, later.

Retirement, sale, or redemption. For information on the 

retirement, sale, or redemption of U.S. government obligations, see Capital or Ordinary Gain or Loss in chapter 4. 

Also, see Nontaxable Trades in chapter 4 for information 

about trading U.S. Treasury obligations for certain other 

designated issues.

Bonds Sold Between Interest Dates

If you sell a bond between interest payment dates, part of 

the sales price represents interest accrued to the date of 

sale. You must report that part of the sales price as interest income for the year of sale.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 15
If you buy a bond between interest payment dates, part 

of the purchase price represents interest accrued before 

the date of purchase. When that interest is paid to you, 

treat it as a return of your capital investment, rather than 

interest income, by reducing your basis in the bond. See 

Accrued interest on bonds, later in this chapter, for information on reporting the payment.

Insurance

Life insurance proceeds paid to you as the beneficiary of 

the insured person usually are not taxable. But if you receive the proceeds in installments, you usually must report 

part of each installment payment as interest income.

For more information about insurance proceeds received in installments, see Pub. 525.

Interest option on insurance. If you leave life insurance 

proceeds on deposit with an insurance company under an 

agreement to pay interest only, the interest paid to you is 

taxable.

Annuity. If you buy an annuity with life insurance proceeds, the annuity payments you receive are taxed as 

pension and annuity income from a nonqualified plan, not 

as interest income. See Pub. 939, General Rule for Pensions and Annuities, for information on taxation of pension 

and annuity income from nonqualified plans.

State or Local

Government Obligations

Interest you receive on an obligation issued by a state or 

local government generally is not taxable. The issuer 

should be able to tell you whether the interest is taxable. 

The issuer also should give you a periodic (or year-end) 

statement showing the tax treatment of the obligation. If 

you invested in the obligation through a trust, a fund, or 

other organization, that organization should give you this 

information.

Even if interest on the obligation is not subject to 

income tax, you may have to report a capital gain 

or loss when you sell it. Estate, gift, or generation-skipping tax may apply to other dispositions of the obligation.

Tax-Exempt Interest

Interest on a bond used to finance government operations 

generally is not taxable if the bond is issued by a state, the 

District of Columbia, a U.S. territory, or any of their political 

subdivisions. Political subdivisions include:

• Port authorities,

• Toll road commissions,

• Utility services authorities,

• Community redevelopment agencies, and

• Qualified volunteer fire departments (for certain obligations issued after 1980).

CAUTION

!

There are other requirements for tax-exempt bonds. Contact the issuing state or local government agency or see 

sections 103 and 141 through 150 of the Internal Revenue 

Code and the related regulations.

Obligations that are not bonds. Interest on a 

state or local government obligation may be tax 

exempt even if the obligation is not a bond. For 

example, interest on a debt evidenced only by an ordinary 

written agreement of purchase and sale may be tax exempt. Also, interest paid by an insurer on default by the 

state or political subdivision may be tax exempt.

Registration requirement. A bond issued after June 30, 

1983, generally must be in registered form for the interest 

to be tax exempt.

Indian tribal government. Bonds issued after 1982 by 

an Indian tribal government (including tribal economic development bonds issued after February 17, 2009) are 

treated as issued by a state. Interest on these bonds generally is tax exempt if the bonds are part of an issue of 

which substantially all proceeds are to be used in the exercise of any essential government function. However, the 

proceeds of a tribal economic development bond issued 

after February 17, 2009, are not required to be used in the 

exercise of an essential government function in order for 

the bond to receive tax-exempt treatment. Interest on private activity bonds (other than certain bonds for tribal 

manufacturing facilities) is taxable.

Original issue discount. Original issue discount (OID) 

on tax-exempt state or local government bonds is treated 

as tax-exempt interest.

For information on the treatment of OID when you dispose of a tax-exempt bond, see Tax-exempt state and local government bonds, later.

Stripped bonds or coupons. For special rules that 

apply to stripped tax-exempt obligations, see Stripped 

Bonds and Coupons, later.

Information reporting requirement. If you must file a 

tax return, you are required to show any tax-exempt interest you received on your return. This is an information reporting requirement only. It does not change tax-exempt 

interest to taxable interest. See Reporting tax-exempt interest, later in this chapter.

Taxable Interest

Interest on some state or local obligations is taxable.

Federally guaranteed bonds. Interest on federally guaranteed state or local obligations issued after 1983 generally is taxable. This rule does not apply to interest on obligations guaranteed by the following U.S. government 

agencies.

• Bonneville Power Authority (if the guarantee was under the Northwest Power Act as in effect on July 18, 

1984).

• Department of Veterans Affairs.

TIP

16 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
• Federal home loan banks. (The guarantee must be 

made after July 30, 2008, in connection with the original bond issue during the period beginning on July 30, 

2008, and ending on December 31, 2010 (or a renewal or extension of a guarantee so made), and the 

bank must meet safety and soundness requirements.)

• Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

• Federal Housing Administration.

• Federal National Mortgage Association.

• Government National Mortgage Corporation.

• Resolution Funding Corporation.

• Student Loan Marketing Association.

Tax credit bonds. Use Form 8912, Credit to Holders of 

Tax Credit Bonds, to claim the credit for the following tax 

credit bonds.

• Clean renewable energy bond (CREB).

• New clean renewable energy bond (NCREB).

• Qualified energy conservation bond (QECB).

• Qualified zone academy bond (QZAB).

• Qualified school construction bond (QSCB).

• Build America bond (BAB).

Generally, in lieu of, or in addition to, receiving periodic 

interest payments from the issuer, the holder of the bond 

is allowed an income tax credit. The credit compensates 

the holder for lending money to the issuer and functions 

as interest paid on the bond.

See the Instructions for Form 8912, Credit to Holders of 

Tax Credit Bonds, for details and instructions.

Mortgage revenue bonds. The proceeds of these 

bonds are used to finance mortgage loans for homebuyers. Generally, interest on state or local government home 

mortgage bonds issued after April 24, 1979, is taxable unless the bonds are qualified mortgage bonds or qualified 

veterans' mortgage bonds.

Arbitrage bonds. Interest on arbitrage bonds issued by 

state or local governments after October 9, 1969, is taxable. An arbitrage bond is a bond of which any portion of 

the proceeds is expected to be used to buy (or to replace 

funds used to buy) higher yielding investments. A bond is 

treated as an arbitrage bond if the issuer intentionally uses 

any part of the proceeds of the issue in this manner.

Private activity bonds. Interest on a private activity 

bond that is not a qualified bond (defined below) is taxable. Generally, a private activity bond is part of a state or 

local government bond issue that meets both the following 

requirements.

1. More than 10% of the proceeds of the issue is to be 

used for a private business use.

2. More than 10% of the payment of the principal or interest is:

a. Secured by an interest in property to be used for a 

private business use (or payments for this property), or

b. Derived from payments for property (or borrowed 

money) used for a private business use.

Also, a bond generally is considered a private activity 

bond if the proceeds to be used to make or finance loans 

to persons other than government units is more than 5% 

of the proceeds or $5 million (whichever is less).

Qualified bond. Interest on a private activity bond that 

is a qualified bond is tax exempt. A qualified bond is an 

exempt-facility bond (including an enterprise zone facility 

bond, a New York Liberty bond, a Midwestern disaster 

area bond, a Hurricane Ike disaster area bond, a Gulf Opportunity Zone bond treated as an exempt-facility bond, or 

any recovery zone facility bond), qualified student loan 

bond, qualified small issue bond (including a tribal manufacturing facility bond), qualified redevelopment bond, 

qualified mortgage bond (including a Gulf Opportunity 

Zone bond, a Midwestern disaster area bond, or a Hurricane Ike disaster area bond treated as a qualified mortgage bond), qualified veterans' mortgage bond, or qualified 501(c)(3) bond (a bond issued for the benefit of 

certain tax-exempt organizations).

Interest you receive on these tax-exempt bonds, if issued after August 7, 1986, generally is a “tax preference 

item” and may be subject to the AMT. See Form 6251 and 

its instructions for more information.

The interest on the following bonds is not a tax preference item and is not subject to the AMT.

• Qualified 501(c)(3) bonds.

• New York Liberty bonds.

• Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds.

• Midwestern disaster area bonds.

• Hurricane Ike disaster area bonds.

• Exempt facility bonds for qualified residential rental 

projects issued after July 30, 2008.

• Qualified mortgage bonds issued after July 30, 2008.

• Qualified veterans' mortgage bonds issued after July 

30, 2008.

Qualified bonds issued in 2009 or 2010. The interest on any qualified bond issued in 2009 or 2010 is not a 

tax preference item and is not subject to the AMT. For this 

purpose, a refunding bond (whether a current or advanced 

refunding) is treated as issued on the date the refunded 

bond was issued (or on the date the original bond was issued in the case of a series of refundings). However, this 

rule does not apply to any refunding bond issued to refund 

any qualified bond issued during 2004 through 2008 or after 2010.

Qualified bonds issued after December 31, 2010. 

A portion of the interest on specified private activity bonds 

issued after December 31, 2010, may be a tax preference 

item subject to the AMT. The tax preference status will apply to the portion of the interest that remains after reducing 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 17
it by deductions that would be allowed if the interest were 

taxable.

Enterprise zone facility bonds. Interest on certain 

private activity bonds issued by a state or local government to finance a facility used in an empowerment zone or 

enterprise community is tax exempt.

New York Liberty bonds. New York Liberty bonds are 

bonds issued after March 9, 2002, to finance the construction and rehabilitation of real property in the designated 

“Liberty Zone” of New York City. Interest on these bonds is 

tax exempt.

Market discount. Market discount on a tax-exempt bond 

is not tax exempt. If you bought the bond after April 30, 

1993, you can choose to accrue the market discount over 

the period you own the bond and include it in your income 

currently as taxable interest. See Market Discount Bonds, 

later. If you do not make that choice, or if you bought the 

bond before May 1, 1993, any gain from market discount 

is taxable when you dispose of the bond.

For more information on the treatment of market discount when you dispose of a tax-exempt bond, see Discounted Debt Instruments, later.

Discount on

Debt Instruments

Terms you may need to know 

(see Glossary):

Market discount

Market discount bond

Original issue discount (OID)

Premium

A debt instrument, such as a bond, note, debenture, or 

other evidence of indebtedness, that bears no interest or 

bears interest at a lower than current market rate usually 

will be issued at less than its face amount. This discount 

is, in effect, additional interest income. The following are 

some types of discounted debt instruments.

• U.S. Treasury bonds.

• Corporate bonds.

• Municipal bonds.

• Certificates of deposit.

• Notes between individuals.

• Stripped bonds and coupons.

• Collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).

The discount on these instruments (except municipal 

bonds) is taxable in most instances. The discount on municipal bonds generally is not taxable (but see State or 

Local Government Obligations, earlier, for exceptions). 

See also REMICs, FASITs, and Other CDOs, later, for information about applying the rules discussed in this section to the regular interest holder of a real estate mortgage 

investment conduit, a financial asset securitization investment trust, or other CDO.

Original Issue

Discount (OID)

OID is a form of interest. You generally include OID in your 

income as it accrues over the term of the debt instrument, 

whether or not you receive any payments from the issuer.

A debt instrument generally has OID when the instrument is issued for a price that is less than its stated redemption price at maturity. OID is the difference between 

the stated redemption price at maturity and the issue 

price.

All debt instruments that pay no interest before maturity 

are presumed to be issued at a discount. Zero coupon 

bonds are one example of these instruments.

The OID accrual rules generally do not apply to 

short-term obligations (those with a fixed maturity date of 

1 year or less from date of issue). See Discount on 

Short-Term Obligations, later.

For information about the sale of a debt instrument with 

OID, see Original issue discount (OID) on debt instruments, later.

De minimis OID. You can treat the discount as zero if it is 

less than one-fourth of 1% (0.0025) of the stated redemption price at maturity multiplied by the number of full years 

from the date of original issue to maturity. This small discount is known as “de minimis” OID. In the case of a debt 

instrument providing for more than one stated principal 

payment (an installment obligation), the “de minimis” formula described above is modified. See Regulations section 1.1273-1(d)(3).

Example 1. You bought a 10-year bond with a stated 

redemption price at maturity of $1,000, issued at $980 

with OID of $20. One-fourth of 1% of $1,000 (stated redemption price) times 10 (the number of full years from 

the date of original issue to maturity) equals $25. Because 

the $20 discount is less than $25, the OID is treated as 

zero. (If you hold the bond at maturity, you will recognize 

$20 ($1,000 − $980) of capital gain.)

Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1, 

except that the bond was issued at $950. The OID is $50. 

Because the $50 discount is more than the $25 figured in 

Example 1, you must include the OID in income as it accrues over the term of the bond.

Debt instrument bought after original issue. If you 

buy a debt instrument with de minimis OID at a premium, 

the discount is not includible in income. If you buy a debt 

instrument with de minimis OID at a discount, the discount 

is reported under the market discount rules. See Market 

Discount Bonds, later in this chapter.

18 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
Exceptions to reporting OID as current income. 

The OID rules discussed here do not apply to the following debt instruments.

1. Tax-exempt obligations. (However, see Stripped 

tax-exempt obligations, later.)

2. U.S. savings bonds.

3. Short-term debt instruments (those with a fixed maturity date of not more than 1 year from the date of issue).

4. Obligations issued by an individual before March 2, 

1984.

5. Loans between individuals, if all the following are true.

a. The lender is not in the business of lending money.

b. The amount of the loan, plus the amount of any 

outstanding prior loans between the same individuals, is $10,000 or less.

c. Avoiding any federal tax is not one of the principal 

purposes of the loan.

Form 1099-OID

The issuer of the debt instrument (or your broker, if you 

held the instrument through a broker) should give you 

Form 1099-OID, or a similar statement, if the total OID for 

the calendar year is $10 or more. Form 1099-OID will 

show, in box 1, the amount of OID for the part of the year 

that you held the bond. It also will show, in box 2, the stated interest you must include in your income. Box 8 shows 

OID on a U.S. Treasury obligation for the part of the year 

you owned it and is not included in box 1. Box 10 shows 

bond premium amortization. A copy of Form 1099-OID will 

be sent to the IRS. Do not file your copy with your return. 

Keep it for your records.

In most cases, you must report the entire amount in 

boxes 1, 2, and 8 of Form 1099-OID as interest income. 

But see Refiguring OID shown on Form 1099-OID, later in 

this discussion, and also Original issue discount (OID) adjustment, later in this chapter, for more information.

Form 1099-OID not received. If you had OID for the 

year but did not receive a Form 1099-OID, you may have 

to figure the correct amount of OID to report on your return. See Pub. 1212 for details on how to figure the correct 

OID.

Nominee. If someone else is the holder of record (the 

registered owner) of an OID instrument belonging to you 

and receives a Form 1099-OID on your behalf, that person 

must give you a Form 1099-OID.

If you receive a Form 1099-OID that includes amounts 

belonging to another person, see Nominee distributions, 

later.

Refiguring OID shown on Form 1099-OID. You may 

need to refigure the OID shown in box 1 or box 8 of Form 

1099-OID if either of the following apply.

• You bought the debt instrument after its original issue 

and paid a premium or an acquisition premium.

• The debt instrument is a stripped bond or a stripped 

coupon (including certain zero coupon instruments). 

See Figuring OID, later in this chapter.

See Original issue discount (OID) adjustment, later in this 

chapter, for information about reporting the correct 

amount of OID.

Premium. You bought a debt instrument at a premium 

if its adjusted basis immediately after purchase was 

greater than the total of all amounts payable on the instrument after the purchase date, other than qualified stated 

interest.

If you bought an OID debt instrument at a premium, you 

generally do not have to report any OID as ordinary income.

Qualified stated interest. In general, this is stated interest unconditionally payable in cash or property (other 

than debt instruments of the issuer) at least annually at a 

fixed rate.

Acquisition premium. You bought a debt instrument 

at an acquisition premium if both the following are true.

• You did not pay a premium.

• The instrument's adjusted basis immediately after purchase (including purchase at original issue) was 

greater than its adjusted issue price. This is the issue 

price plus the OID previously accrued, minus any payment previously made on the instrument other than 

qualified stated interest.

Acquisition premium reduces the amount of OID includible 

in your income. For information about figuring the correct 

amount of OID to include in your income, see Figuring OID 

on Long-Term Debt Instruments in Pub. 1212.

Refiguring periodic interest shown on Form 

1099-OID. If you disposed of a debt instrument or acquired it from another holder during the year, see Bonds 

Sold Between Interest Dates, earlier, for information about 

the treatment of periodic interest that may be shown in 

box 2 of Form 1099-OID for that instrument.

Applying the OID Rules

The rules for reporting OID depend on the date the 

long-term debt instrument was issued.

Debt instruments issued after May 27, 1969 (after 

July 1, 1982, if a government instrument), and before 

1985. If you hold these debt instruments as capital assets, you must include a part of the discount in your gross 

income each year that you own the instruments.

Effect on basis. Your basis in the instrument is increased by the amount of OID you include in your gross 

income.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 19
Debt instruments issued after 1984. For these debt instruments, you report the total OID that applies each year 

regardless of whether you hold that debt instrument as a 

capital asset.

Effect on basis. Your basis in the instrument is increased by the amount of OID you include in your gross 

income.

Certificates of Deposit (CDs)

A CD is a debt instrument.

If you buy a CD with a maturity of more than 1 year, you 

must include in income each year a part of the total interest due and report it in the same manner as other OID.

This also applies to similar deposit arrangements with 

banks, building and loan associations, etc., including:

• Time deposits,

• Bonus plans,

• Savings certificates,

• Deferred income certificates,

• Bonus savings certificates, and

• Growth savings certificates.

Bearer CDs. CDs issued after 1982 generally must be in 

registered form. Bearer CDs are CDs not in registered 

form. They are not issued in the depositor's name and are 

transferable from one individual to another.

Banks must provide the IRS and the person redeeming 

a bearer CD with a Form 1099-INT.

Time deposit open account arrangement. This is an 

arrangement with a fixed maturity date in which you make 

deposits on a schedule arranged between you and your 

bank. But there is no actual or constructive receipt of interest until the fixed maturity date is reached. For instance, 

you and your bank enter into an arrangement under which 

you agree to deposit $100 each month for a period of 5 

years. Interest will be compounded twice a year at 71/2%, 

but payable only at the end of the 5-year period. You must 

include a part of the interest in your income as OID each 

year. Each year the bank must give you a Form 1099-OID 

to show you the amount you must include in your income 

for the year.

Redemption before maturity. If, before the maturity 

date, you redeem a deferred interest account for less than 

its stated redemption price at maturity, you can deduct 

OID that you previously included in income but did not receive.

Renewable certificates. If you renew a CD at maturity, it 

is treated as a redemption and a purchase of a new certificate. This is true regardless of the terms of renewal.

Face-Amount Certificates

These certificates are subject to the OID rules. They are a 

form of endowment contracts issued by insurance or investment companies for either a lump-sum payment or periodic payments, with the face amount becoming payable 

on the maturity date of the certificate.

In general, the difference between the face amount and 

the amount you paid for the contract is OID. You must include a part of the OID in your income over the term of the 

certificate.

The issuer must give you a statement on Form 

1099-OID indicating the amount you must include in your 

income each year.

Inflation-Indexed

Debt Instruments

If you hold an inflation-indexed debt instrument (other than 

a Series I U.S. savings bond), you must report as OID any 

increase in the inflation-adjusted principal amount of the 

instrument that occurs while you held the instrument during the year. In general, an inflation-indexed debt instrument is a debt instrument on which the payments are adjusted for inflation and deflation (such as Treasury 

Inflation-Protected Securities). You should receive Form 

1099-OID from the payer showing the amount you must 

report as OID and any qualified stated interest paid to you 

during the year. For more information, see Pub. 1212.

Stripped Bonds and Coupons

If you strip one or more coupons from a bond and sell the 

bond or the coupons, the bond and coupons are treated 

as separate debt instruments issued with OID.

The holder of a stripped bond has the right to receive 

the principal (redemption price) payment. The holder of a 

stripped coupon has the right to receive interest on the 

bond.

Stripped bonds and stripped coupons include:

• Zero coupon instruments available through the Department of the Treasury's Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities (STRIPS) 

program and government-sponsored enterprises such 

as the Resolution Funding Corporation and the Financing Corporation; and

• Instruments backed by U.S. Treasury securities that 

represent ownership interests in those securities, such 

as obligations backed by U.S. Treasury bonds offered 

primarily by brokerage firms.

Seller. If you strip coupons from a bond and sell the bond 

or coupons, include in income the interest that accrued 

while you held the bond before the date of sale, to the extent you did not previously include this interest in your income. For an obligation acquired after October 22, 1986, 

you also must include the market discount that accrued 

20 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
before the date of sale of the stripped bond (or coupon) to 

the extent you did not previously include this discount in 

your income.

Add the interest and market discount that you include in 

income to the basis of the bond and coupons. Allocate 

this adjusted basis between the items you keep and the 

items you sell, based on the fair market value of the items. 

The difference between the sale price of the bond (or coupon) and the allocated basis of the bond (or coupon) is 

your gain or loss from the sale.

Treat any item you keep as an OID bond originally issued and bought by you on the sale date of the other 

items. If you keep the bond, treat the amount of the redemption price of the bond that is more than the basis of 

the bond as OID. If you keep the coupons, treat the 

amount payable on the coupons that is more than the basis of the coupons as OID.

Buyer. If you buy a stripped bond or stripped coupon, 

treat it as if it were originally issued on the date you buy it. 

If you buy a stripped bond, treat as OID any excess of the 

stated redemption price at maturity over your purchase 

price. If you buy a stripped coupon, treat as OID any excess of the amount payable on the due date of the coupon 

over your purchase price.

Figuring OID. The rules for figuring OID on stripped 

bonds and stripped coupons depend on the date the debt 

instruments were purchased, not the date issued.

You must refigure OID shown on the Form 1099-OID 

you receive for a stripped bond or coupon. For information 

about figuring the correct amount of OID on these instruments to include in your income, see Figuring OID on 

Stripped Bonds and Coupons in Pub. 1212. Owners of 

stripped bonds and coupons should not rely on the OID 

shown in Section II of the OID tables (available by going to 

IRS.gov and searching for “OID Tables”) because the 

amounts listed in Section II for stripped bonds or coupons 

are figured without reference to the date or price at which 

you acquired them.

Stripped inflation-indexed debt instruments. OID 

on stripped inflation-indexed debt instruments is figured 

under the discount bond method. This method is described in Regulations section 1.1275-7(e).

Stripped tax-exempt obligations. You do not have to 

pay tax on OID on any stripped tax-exempt bond or coupon you bought before June 11, 1987. However, if you acquired it after October 22, 1986, you must accrue OID on 

it to determine its basis when you dispose of it. See Original issue discount (OID) on debt instruments, later.

You may have to pay tax on part of the OID on stripped 

tax-exempt bonds or coupons that you bought after June 

10, 1987. For information on figuring the taxable part, see 

Tax-Exempt Bonds and Coupons under Figuring OID on 

Stripped Bonds and Coupons in Pub. 1212.

Market Discount Bonds

A market discount bond is any bond having market discount except:

• Short-term obligations (those with fixed maturity dates 

of up to 1 year from the date of issue),

• Tax-exempt obligations you bought before May 1, 

1993,

• U.S. savings bonds, and

• Certain installment obligations.

Market discount arises when the value of a debt obligation decreases after its issue date. Generally, this is due to 

an increase in interest rates. If you buy a bond on the secondary market, it may have market discount.

When you buy a market discount bond, you can choose 

to accrue the market discount over the period you own the 

bond and include it in your income currently as interest income. If you do not make this choice, the following rules 

generally apply.

• You must treat any gain when you dispose of the bond 

as ordinary interest income, up to the amount of the 

accrued market discount. See Discounted Debt Instruments, later.

• You must treat any partial payment of principal on the 

bond as ordinary interest income, up to the amount of 

the accrued market discount. See Partial principal 

payments, later in this discussion.

• If you borrow money to buy or carry the bond, your deduction for interest paid on the debt is limited. See 

Limit on interest deduction for market discount bonds, 

later.

Market discount. Market discount is the amount of the 

stated redemption price of a bond at maturity that is more 

than your basis in the bond immediately after you acquire 

it. You treat market discount as zero if it is less than 

one-fourth of 1% (0.0025) of the stated redemption price 

of the bond multiplied by the number of full years to maturity (after you acquire the bond).

If a market discount bond also has OID, the market discount is the sum of the bond's issue price and the total 

OID includible in the gross income of all holders (for a 

tax-exempt bond, the total OID that accrued) before you 

acquired the bond, reduced by your basis in the bond immediately after you acquired it.

Bonds acquired at original issue. Generally, a bond 

you acquired at original issue is not a market discount 

bond. If your adjusted basis in a bond is determined by 

reference to the adjusted basis of another person who acquired the bond at original issue, you also are considered 

to have acquired it at original issue.

Exceptions. A bond you acquired at original issue can 

be a market discount bond if either of the following is true.

• Your cost basis in the bond is less than the bond's issue price.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 21
• The bond is issued in exchange for a market discount 

bond under a plan of reorganization. (This does not 

apply if the bond is issued in exchange for a market 

discount bond issued before July 19, 1984, and the 

terms and interest rates of both bonds are the same.)

Accrued market discount. The accrued market discount is figured in one of two ways.

Ratable accrual method. Treat the market discount 

as accruing in equal daily installments during the period 

you hold the bond. Figure the daily installments by dividing the market discount by the number of days after the 

date you acquired the bond, up to and including its maturity date. Multiply the daily installments by the number of 

days you held the bond to figure your accrued market discount.

Constant yield method. Instead of using the ratable 

accrual method, you can choose to figure the accrued discount using a constant interest rate (the constant yield 

method). Make this choice by attaching to your timely filed 

return a statement identifying the bond and stating that 

you are making a constant interest rate election. The 

choice takes effect on the date you acquired the bond. If 

you choose to use this method for any bond, you cannot 

change your choice for that bond.

For information about using the constant yield method, 

see Constant yield method under Debt Instruments Issued 

After 1984 in Pub. 1212. To use this method to figure market discount (instead of OID), treat the bond as having 

been issued on the date you acquired it. Treat the amount 

of your basis (immediately after you acquired the bond) as 

the issue price and apply the formula shown in Pub. 1212.

Choosing to include market discount in income currently. You can make this choice if you have not revoked 

a prior choice to include market discount in income currently within the last 5 calendar years. Make the choice by 

attaching to your timely filed return a statement in which 

you:

• State that you have included market discount in your 

gross income for the year under section 1278(b) of the 

Internal Revenue Code, and

• Describe the method you used to figure the accrued 

market discount for the year.

Once you make this choice, it will apply to all market 

discount bonds you acquire during the tax year and in 

later tax years. You cannot revoke your choice without the 

consent of the IRS. See Rev. Proc. 2023-24 for information on how to revoke your election.

Also, see Election To Report All Interest as OID, later. If 

you make that election, you must use the constant yield 

method.

Effect on basis. You increase the basis of your bonds 

by the amount of market discount you include in your income.

Partial principal payments. If you receive a partial payment of principal on a market discount bond you acquired 

after October 22, 1986, and you did not choose to include 

the discount in income currently, you must treat the payment as ordinary interest income up to the amount of the 

bond's accrued market discount. Reduce the amount of 

accrued market discount reportable as interest at disposition by that amount.

There are three methods you can use to figure accrued 

market discount for this purpose.

1. On the basis of the constant yield method, described 

earlier.

2. In proportion to the accrual of OID for any accrual period, if the debt instrument has OID.

3. In proportion to the amount of stated interest paid in 

the accrual period, if the debt instrument has no OID.

Under method (2) above, figure accrued market discount for a period by multiplying the total remaining market discount by a fraction. The numerator (top part) of the 

fraction is the OID for the period, and the denominator 

(bottom part) is the total remaining OID at the beginning of 

the period.

Under method (3) above, figure accrued market discount for a period by multiplying the total remaining market discount by a fraction. The numerator is the stated interest paid in the accrual period, and the denominator is 

the total stated interest remaining to be paid at the beginning of the accrual period.

Discount on

Short-Term Obligations

When you buy a short-term obligation (one with a fixed 

maturity date of 1 year or less from the date of issue), 

other than a tax-exempt obligation, you generally can 

choose to include any discount and interest payable on 

the obligation in income currently. If you do not make this 

choice, the following rules generally apply.

• You must treat any gain when you sell, exchange, or 

redeem the obligation as ordinary income, up to the 

amount of the ratable share of the discount. See Discounted Debt Instruments, later.

• If you borrow money to buy or carry the obligation, 

your deduction for interest paid on the debt is limited. 

See Limit on interest deduction for short-term obligations, later.

Short-term obligations for which no choice is available. You must include any discount or interest in current 

income as it accrues for any short-term obligation (other 

than a tax-exempt obligation) that is:

• Held by an accrual-basis taxpayer;

• Held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary 

course of your trade or business;

• Held by a bank, regulated investment company, or 

common trust fund;

• Held by certain pass-through entities;

• Identified as part of a hedging transaction; or

22 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
• A stripped bond or stripped coupon held by the person who stripped the bond or coupon (or by any other 

person whose basis in the obligation is determined by 

reference to the basis in the hands of the person who 

stripped the bond or coupon).

Effect on basis. Increase the basis of your obligation by 

the amount of discount you include in income currently.

Figuring the accrued discount. Figure the accrued discount by using either the ratable accrual method or the 

constant yield method discussed in Accrued market discount, earlier.

Government obligations. For an obligation described 

above that is a short-term government obligation, the 

amount you include in your income for the current year is 

the accrued acquisition discount, if any, plus any other accrued interest payable on the obligation. The acquisition 

discount is the stated redemption price at maturity minus 

your basis. 

If you choose to use the constant yield method to figure 

accrued acquisition discount, treat the cost of acquiring 

the obligation as the issue price. If you choose to use this 

method, you cannot change your choice.

Nongovernment obligations. For an obligation listed 

above that is not a government obligation, the amount you 

include in your income for the current year is the accrued 

OID, if any, plus any other accrued interest payable. If you 

choose the constant yield method to figure accrued OID, 

apply it by using the obligation's issue price.

Choosing to include accrued acquisition discount 

instead of OID. You can choose to report accrued acquisition discount (defined earlier under Government obligations) rather than accrued OID on these short-term obligations. Your choice will apply to the year for which it is 

made and to all later years and cannot be changed without the consent of the IRS.

You must make your choice by the due date of your return, including extensions, for the first year for which you 

are making the choice. Attach a statement to your return 

or amended return indicating:

• Your name, address, and social security number;

• The choice you are making and that it is being made 

under section 1283(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue 

Code;

• The period for which the choice is being made and the 

obligation to which it applies; and

• Any other information necessary to show you are entitled to make this choice.

Choosing to include accrued discount and other interest in current income. If you acquire short-term discount obligations that are not subject to the rules for current inclusion in income of the accrued discount or other 

interest, you can choose to have those rules apply. This 

choice applies to all short-term obligations you acquire 

during the year and in all later years. You cannot change 

this choice without the consent of the IRS.

The procedures to use in making this choice are the 

same as those described for choosing to include acquisition discount instead of OID on nongovernment obligations in current income. However, you should indicate that 

you are making the choice under section 1282(b)(2) of the 

Internal Revenue Code.

Also, see the following discussion. If you make the election to report all interest currently as OID, you must use 

the constant yield method.

Election To Report

All Interest as OID

Generally, you can elect to treat all interest on a debt instrument acquired during the tax year as OID and include 

it in income currently. For purposes of this election, interest includes stated interest, acquisition discount, OID, de 

minimis OID, market discount, de minimis market discount, and unstated interest as adjusted by any amortizable bond premium or acquisition premium. See Regulations section 1.1272-3.

When To Report

Interest Income

Terms you may need to know 

(see Glossary):

Accrual method

Cash method

When to report your interest income depends on whether 

you use the cash method or an accrual method to report 

income.

Cash method. Most individual taxpayers use the cash 

method. If you use this method, you generally report your 

interest income in the year in which you actually or constructively receive it. However, there are special rules for 

reporting the discount on certain debt instruments. See 

U.S. Savings Bonds and Discount on Debt Instruments, 

earlier.

Example. On September 1, 2021, you loaned another 

individual $2,000 at 4% compounded annually. You are 

not in the business of lending money. The note stated that 

principal and interest would be due on August 31, 2023. In 

2023, you received $2,163.20 ($2,000 principal and 

$163.20 interest). If you use the cash method, you must 

include in income on your 2023 return the $163.20 in interest you received in that year.

Constructive receipt. You constructively receive income when it is credited to your account or made available to you. You do not need to have physical possession of 

it. For example, you are considered to receive interest, dividends, or other earnings on any deposit or account in a 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 23
bank, savings and loan association, or similar financial institution, or interest on life insurance policy dividends left 

to accumulate, when they are credited to your account 

and subject to your withdrawal.

You constructively receive income on the deposit or account even if you must:

• Make withdrawals in multiples of even amounts,

• Give a notice to withdraw before making the withdrawal,

• Withdraw all or part of the account to withdraw the 

earnings, or

• Pay a penalty on early withdrawals, unless the interest 

you are to receive on an early withdrawal or redemption is substantially less than the interest payable at 

maturity.

Accrual method. If you use an accrual method, you report your interest income when you earn it, whether or not 

you have received it. Interest is earned over the term of 

the debt instrument.

Example. If, in the previous example, you use an accrual method, you must include the interest in your income 

as you earn it. You would report the interest as follows: 

2021, $26.67; 2022, $81.06; and 2023, $55.47.

Coupon bonds. Generally, interest on coupon bonds is 

taxable in the year the coupon becomes due and payable. 

It does not matter when you mail the coupon for payment.

How To Report

Interest Income

Terms you may need to know 

(see Glossary):

Nominee

Original issue discount (OID)

Generally, you report all your taxable interest income on 

Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 2b.

Schedule B (Form 1040). You must complete Schedule B (Form 1040), Part I, if any of the following apply.

1. Your taxable interest income is more than $1,500.

2. You are claiming the interest exclusion under the Education Savings Bond Program (discussed earlier).

3. You received interest from a seller-financed mortgage, 

and the buyer used the property as a home.

4. You received a Form 1099-INT for U.S. savings bond 

interest that includes amounts you reported in a previous tax year.

5. You received, as a nominee, interest that actually belongs to someone else.

6. You received a Form 1099-INT for interest on frozen 

deposits.

7. You received a Form 1099-INT for interest on a bond 

you bought between interest payment dates.

8. You are reporting OID in an amount less than the 

amount shown on Form 1099-OID.

9. You are reporting interest income of less than the 

amount shown on a Form 1099 due to amortizable 

bond premium.

In Part I, line 1, list each payer's name and the amount received from each. If you received a Form 1099-INT or 

Form 1099-OID from a brokerage firm, list the brokerage 

firm as the payer.

Reporting tax-exempt interest. Total your tax-exempt 

interest (such as interest or accrued OID on certain state 

and municipal bonds, including zero coupon municipal 

bonds) reported on Form 1099-INT, box 8; Form 

1099-OID, box 11; and exempt-interest dividends from a 

mutual fund or other regulated investment company reported on Form 1099-DIV, box 12. Add these amounts to any 

other tax-exempt interest you received. Report the total on 

line 2a of Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Form 1099-INT, box 9, and Form 1099-DIV, box 13, 

show the tax-exempt interest subject to the AMT on Form 

6251. These amounts already are included in the amounts 

on Form 1099-INT, box 8, and Form 1099-DIV, box 12. Do 

not add the amounts in Form 1099-INT, box 9, and Form 

1099-DIV, box 13, to, or subtract them from, the amounts 

on Form 1099-INT, box 8, and Form 1099-DIV, box 12.

Do not report interest from an individual retirement arrangement (IRA) as tax-exempt interest.

Form 1099-INT. Your taxable interest income, except for 

interest from U.S. savings bonds and Treasury obligations, 

is shown in box 1 of Form 1099-INT. Add this amount to 

any other taxable interest income you received. See the 

Form 1099-INT Instructions for Recipient if you have interest from a security acquired at a premium. You must report 

all your taxable interest income even if you do not receive 

a Form 1099-INT. Contact your financial institution if you 

do not receive a Form 1099-INT by February 15. Your 

identifying number may be truncated on any paper Form 

1099-INT you receive.

If you forfeited interest income because of the early 

withdrawal of a time deposit, the deductible amount will be 

shown on Form 1099-INT in box 2. See Penalty on early 

withdrawal of savings, later.

Box 3 of Form 1099-INT shows the interest income you 

received from U.S. savings bonds, Treasury bills, Treasury 

notes, and Treasury bonds. Generally, add the amount 

shown in box 3 to any other taxable interest income you 

received. If part of the amount shown in box 3 was previously included in your interest income, see U.S. savings 

bond interest previously reported, later. If you redeemed 

U.S. savings bonds you bought after 1989 and you paid 

qualified educational expenses, see Interest excluded under the Education Savings Bond Program, later.

CAUTION

!

24 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
Box 4 of Form 1099-INT will contain an amount if you 

were subject to backup withholding. Include the amount 

from box 4 on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 25b.

Box 5 of Form 1099-INT shows your share of investment expenses of a single-class REMIC. This amount is 

included in box 1 and is not deductible.

Box 6 of Form 1099-INT shows foreign tax paid. You 

may be able to claim this tax as a deduction or a credit on 

your Form 1040 or 1040-SR. See your tax return instructions. Box 7 of Form 1099-INT shows the country or U.S. 

territory to which the foreign tax was paid.

For a covered security, if you made an election under 

section 1278(b) to include market discount in income as it 

accrues and you notified your payer of the election in writing in accordance with Regulations section 1.6045-1(n)

(5), box 10 of Form 1099-INT shows the market discount 

that accrued on the debt instrument during the year while 

held by you. Report this amount on your income tax return 

as directed in the Instructions for Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

For a covered security, box 11 shows the amount of 

premium amortization for the year, unless you notified the 

payer in writing in accordance with Regulations section 

1.6045-1(n)(5) that you did not want to amortize bond premium under section 171. If an amount is reported in this 

box, see the Instructions for Schedule B (Form 1040). If an 

amount is not reported in this box for a covered security 

acquired at a premium, the payer has reported a net 

amount of interest in box 1, 3, 8, or 9, whichever is applicable. If the amount in this box is greater than the amount 

of interest paid on the covered security, see Regulations 

section 1.171-2(a)(4).

Form 1099-OID. The taxable OID on a discounted obligation for the part of the year you owned it is shown in 

box 1 of Form 1099-OID. Include this amount in your total 

taxable interest income. But see Refiguring OID shown on 

Form 1099-OID, earlier. Your identifying number may be 

truncated on any paper Form 1099-OID you receive.

You must report all taxable OID even if you do not receive a Form 1099-OID.

Box 2 of Form 1099-OID shows any taxable interest on 

the obligation other than OID. Add this amount to the OID 

shown in box 1 and include the result in your total taxable 

income.

If you bought and/or sold an obligation during the year, 

see Bonds Sold Between Interest Dates, earlier, for information about the treatment of periodic interest that may be 

shown in box 2 of Form 1099-OID.

If you forfeited interest or principal on the obligation because of an early withdrawal, the deductible amount will 

be shown in box 3. See Penalty on early withdrawal of 

savings, later.

Box 4 of Form 1099-OID will contain an amount if you 

were subject to backup withholding. Report the amount 

from box 4 on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 25b.

Box 5 shows the market discount that accrued on the 

debt instrument during the year while held by you for a 

covered security acquired with OID, if you made an election under section 1278(b) to include market discount in 

income as it accrues and you notified your payer of the 

election in writing in accordance with Regulations section 

1.6045-1(n)(5).

For a taxable covered security, box 6 shows the amount 

of acquisition premium amortization for the year that reduces the amount of OID that is included as interest on 

your income tax return.

Box 9 of Form 1099-OID shows your share of investment expenses of a single-class REMIC. This amount is 

not deductible.

U.S. savings bond interest previously reported. If you 

received a Form 1099-INT for U.S. savings bond interest, 

the form may show interest you do not have to report. See 

Form 1099-INT for U.S. savings bond interest, earlier.

On Schedule B (Form 1040), Part I, line 1, report all the 

interest shown on your Form 1099-INT. Then follow these 

steps.

1. Several rows above line 2, enter a subtotal of all interest listed on line 1.

2. Below the subtotal, enter “U.S. Savings Bond Interest 

Previously Reported” and enter amounts previously 

reported or interest accrued before you received the 

bond.

3. Subtract these amounts from the subtotal and enter 

the result on line 2.

Example 1. Your parents bought U.S. savings bonds 

for you when you were a child. The bonds were issued in 

your name, and the interest on the bonds was reported 

each year as it accrued. See Choice to report interest 

each year, earlier.

In March 2023, you redeemed one of the bonds—a 

$1,000 Series EE bond. The bond was originally issued in 

March 2004 for $500.00. When you redeemed the bond, 

you received $729.20 for it.

The Form 1099-INT you received shows interest income of $229.20. However, since the interest on your savings bonds was reported yearly, you need only include the 

$2.80 interest that accrued from January 2023 to March 

2023.

On Schedule B (Form 1040), Part I, line 1, enter your interest income as shown on Form 1099-INT—$229.20. If 

you had other taxable interest income, you would enter it 

next and then enter a subtotal, as described earlier, before 

going to the next step. Several rows above line 2, enter 

“U.S. Savings Bond Interest Previously Reported” and enter $226.40 ($229.20 − $2.80). Subtract $226.40 from 

$229.20 and enter $2.80 on Schedule B (Form 1040), 

line 2. Add this amount to your subtotal (if any) and in the 

total on Schedule B (Form 1040), line 4.

Example 2. Your uncle died and left you a $1,000 Series EE bond. You redeem the bond for $1,000.

Your uncle paid $500 for the bond, so $500 of the 

amount you receive upon redemption is interest income. 

Your uncle's executor included in your uncle's final return 

$200 of the interest that had accrued at the time of your 

uncle's death. You have to include only $300 in your income.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 25
The bank where you redeem the bond gives you a 

Form 1099-INT showing interest income of $500. You also 

receive a Form 1099-INT showing taxable interest income 

of $300 from your savings account.

You file Form 1040 or 1040-SR and complete Schedule B (Form 1040). On line 1 of Schedule B (Form 1040), 

you list the $500 and $300 interest amounts shown on 

your Forms 1099. Several rows above line 2, you put a 

subtotal of $800. Below this subtotal, enter “U.S. Savings 

Bond Interest Previously Reported” and enter the $200 interest included in your uncle's final return. Subtract the 

$200 from the subtotal and enter $600 on line 2. You then 

complete the rest of the form.

Worksheet for savings bonds distributed from a 

retirement or profit-sharing plan. If you cashed a savings bond acquired in a taxable distribution from a retirement or profit-sharing plan (as discussed under U.S. Savings Bonds, earlier), your interest income does not include 

the interest accrued before the distribution and taxed as a 

distribution from the plan.

Use the worksheet below to figure the amount you 

subtract from the interest shown on Form 

1099-INT.

A. Enter the amount of cash received upon redemption 

of the bond ..........................

B. Enter the value of the bond at the time of distribution 

by the plan ...........................

C. Subtract the amount on line B from the amount on 

line A. This is the amount of interest accrued on the 

bond since it was distributed by the plan ........

D. Enter the amount of interest shown on your Form 

1099-INT ............................

E. Subtract the amount on line C from the amount on 

line D. This is the amount you include in “U.S. Savings 

Bond Interest Previously Reported” ............

Your employer should tell you the value of each bond 

on the date it was distributed.

Example. You received a distribution of Series EE U.S. 

savings bonds in December 2020 from your company's 

profit-sharing plan.

In March 2023, you redeemed a $100 Series EE bond 

that was part of the distribution you received in 2020. You 

received $92.68 for the bond the company bought in May 

2006. The value of the bond at the time of distribution in 

2020 was $85.36. (This is the amount you included on 

your 2020 return.) The bank gave you a Form 1099-INT 

that shows $42.68 interest (the total interest from the date 

the bond was purchased to the date of redemption). Since 

a part of the interest was included in your income in 2020, 

you need to include in your 2023 income only the interest 

that accrued after the bond was distributed to you.

On Schedule B (Form 1040), line 1, include all the interest shown on your Form 1099-INT as well as any other 

taxable interest income you received. Several rows above 

line 2, put a subtotal of all interest listed on line 1. Below 

this subtotal, enter “U.S. Savings Bond Interest Previously 

Reported” and enter the amount figured on the worksheet 

below.

A. Enter the amount of cash received upon 

redemption of the bond ................. $92.68

B. Enter the value of the bond at the time of 

distribution by the plan .................. $85.36

C. Subtract the amount on line B from the amount on 

line A. This is the amount of interest accrued on the 

bond since it was distributed by the plan ....... $7.32

D. Enter the amount of interest shown on your Form 

1099-INT .......................... $42.68

E. Subtract the amount on line C from the amount on 

line D. This is the amount you include in “U.S. 

Savings Bond Interest Previously Reported” ..... $35.36 

Subtract $35.36 from the subtotal and enter the result on 

Schedule B (Form 1040), line 2. You then complete the 

rest of the form.

Interest excluded under the Education Savings Bond 

Program. Use Form 8815 to figure your interest exclusion 

when you redeem qualified savings bonds and pay qualified higher education expenses during the same year.

For more information on the exclusion and qualified 

higher education expenses, see the earlier discussion under Education Savings Bond Program.

Interest on seller-financed mortgage. If an individual 

buys his or her home from you in a sale that you finance, 

you must report the amount of interest received on Schedule B (Form 1040), line 1. Include on line 1 the buyer's 

name, address, and SSN. If you do not, you may have to 

pay a $50 penalty. The buyer may have to pay a $50 penalty if he or she does not give you this information.

You also must give your name, address, and SSN (or 

EIN) to the buyer. If you do not, you may have to pay a $50 

penalty.

Frozen deposits. Even if you receive a Form 1099-INT 

for interest on deposits that you could not withdraw at the 

end of 2023, you must exclude these amounts from your 

gross income. (See Interest income on frozen deposits, 

earlier.) Do not include this income on line 2b of Form 

1040 or 1040-SR. On Schedule B (Form 1040), Part I, include the full amount of interest shown on your Form 

1099-INT on line 1. Several rows above line 2, put a subtotal of all interest income. Below this subtotal, enter “Frozen 

Deposits” and show the amount of interest that you are excluding. Subtract this amount from the subtotal and enter 

the result on line 2.

Accrued interest on bonds. If you received a Form 

1099-INT that reflects accrued interest paid on a bond you 

bought between interest payment dates, include the full 

amount shown as interest on the Form 1099-INT on 

Schedule B (Form 1040), Part I, line 1. Then, below a subtotal of all interest income listed, enter “Accrued Interest” 

and the amount of accrued interest you paid to the seller. 

That amount is taxable to the seller, not you. Subtract that 

amount from the interest income subtotal. Enter the result 

on line 2b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

26 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
For more information, see Bonds Sold Between Interest 

Dates, earlier.

Nominee distributions. If you received a Form 1099-INT 

that includes an amount you received as a nominee for the 

real owner, report the full amount shown as interest on the 

Form 1099-INT on Part I, line 1 of Schedule B (Form 

1040). Then, below a subtotal of all interest income listed, 

enter “Nominee Distribution” and the amount that actually 

belongs to someone else. Subtract that amount from the 

interest income subtotal. Enter the result on line 2b of 

Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

File Form 1099-INT with the IRS. If you received interest as a nominee in 2023, you must file a Form 

1099-INT for that interest with the IRS. Send Copy A of 

Form 1099-INT with a Form 1096, Annual Summary and 

Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, to your Internal 

Revenue Service Center by February 28, 2024 (April 1, 

2024, if you file Form 1099-INT electronically). Give the 

actual owner of the interest Copy B of the Form 1099-INT 

by January 31, 2024. On Form 1099-INT, you should be 

listed as the “Payer.” Prepare one Form 1099-INT for each 

other owner and show that person as the “Recipient.” 

However, you do not have to file Form 1099-INT to show 

payments for your spouse. For more information about the 

reporting requirements and the penalties for failure to file 

(or furnish) certain information returns, see the General Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

Similar rules apply to OID reported to you as a nominee 

on Form 1099-OID. You must file a Form 1099-OID with 

Form 1096 to show the proper distributions of the OID.

Example. You and your sibling have a joint savings account that paid $1,500 interest for 2023. Your sibling deposited 30% of the funds in this account, and you and 

your sibling have agreed to share the yearly interest income in proportion to the amount each of you has invested. Because your SSN was given to the bank, you received a Form 1099-INT for 2023 that includes the interest 

income earned belonging to your sibling. This amount is 

$450, or 30% of the total interest of $1,500.

You must give your sibling a Form 1099-INT by January 

31, 2024, showing $450 of interest income your sibling 

earned for 2023. You also must send a copy of the nominee Form 1099-INT, along with Form 1096, to the Internal 

Revenue Service Center by February 28, 2024 (April 1, 

2024, if you file Form 1099-INT electronically). Show your 

own name, address, and SSN as that of the “Payer” on the 

Form 1099-INT. Show your sibling's name, address, and 

SSN in the blocks provided for identification of the “Recipient.”

When you prepare your own federal income tax return, 

report the total amount of interest income, $1,500, on 

Schedule B (Form 1040), Part I, line 1, and identify the 

name of the bank that paid this interest. Show the amount 

belonging to your sibling, $450, as a subtraction from a 

subtotal of all interest on Schedule B (Form 1040) and 

identify this subtraction as a “Nominee Distribution.” (Your 

sibling will report the $450 of interest income on any income tax return your sibling files and identify you as the 

payer of that amount.)

Original issue discount (OID) adjustment. If you are 

reporting OID in an amount less than the amount shown 

on Form 1099-OID or other written statement (such as for 

a REMIC regular interest), include the full amount of OID 

shown on your Form 1099-OID or other statement on 

Schedule B (Form 1040), Part I, line 1. Show OID you do 

not have to report below a subtotal of the interest and OID 

listed. Identify the amount as “OID Adjustment” and subtract it from the subtotal.

Penalty on early withdrawal of savings. If you withdraw funds from a certificate of deposit or other deferred 

interest account before maturity, you may be charged a 

penalty. The Form 1099-INT or similar statement given to 

you by the financial institution will show the total amount of 

interest in box 1 and will show the penalty separately in 

box 2. You must include in income all interest shown in 

box 1. You can deduct the penalty on Schedule 1 (Form 

1040), line 18.

Dividends and

Other Distributions

Dividends can be distributions of money, stock, or other 

property paid to you by a corporation or by a mutual fund. 

You also may receive dividends through a partnership, an 

estate, a trust, or an association that is taxed as a corporation. However, some amounts you receive called dividends actually are interest income. See Dividends that are 

actually interest, earlier.

The most common kinds of distributions are:

• Ordinary dividends,

• Capital gain distributions, and

• Nondividend distributions.

Most distributions are paid in cash (check). However, distributions can consist of more stock, stock rights, other 

property, or services.

Form 1099-DIV. Most corporations use Form 1099-DIV 

to show you the distributions you received from them during the year. Keep this form with your records. You do not 

have to attach it to your tax return. Your identifying number 

may be truncated on any paper Form 1099-DIV you receive.

Dividends not reported on Form 1099-DIV. Even if 

you do not receive a Form 1099-DIV, you must still report 

all your taxable dividend income. For example, you may 

receive distributive shares of dividends from partnerships 

or S corporations. These dividends are reported to you on 

Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) and Schedule K-1 (Form 

1120S).

Nominees. If someone receives distributions as a 

nominee for you, that person will give you a Form 

1099-DIV which will show distributions received on your 

behalf.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 27
If you receive a Form 1099-DIV that includes amounts 

belonging to another person, see Nominees under How 

To Report Dividend Income, later, for more information.

Form 1099-MISC. Certain substitute payments in lieu of 

dividends or tax-exempt interest received by a broker on 

your behalf must be reported to you on Form 1099-MISC, 

Miscellaneous Information, or a similar statement. See 

also Reporting Substitute Payments, later.

Incorrect amount shown on a Form 1099. If you receive a Form 1099 that shows an incorrect amount (or 

other incorrect information), you should ask the issuer for 

a corrected form. The new Form 1099 you receive should 

be denoted “Corrected.”

Dividends on stock sold. If stock is sold, exchanged, or 

otherwise disposed of after a dividend is declared but before it is paid, the owner of record (usually the payee 

shown on the dividend check) must include the dividend 

in income.

Dividends received in January. If a mutual fund (or 

other regulated investment company) or real estate investment trust (REIT) declares a dividend (including any exempt-interest dividend or capital gain distribution) in October, November, or December, payable to shareholders of 

record on a date in one of those months but actually pays 

the dividend during January of the next calendar year, you 

are considered to have received the dividend on December 31. You report the dividend in the year it was declared.

Ordinary Dividends

Ordinary dividends are the most common type of distribution from a corporation or a mutual fund. They are paid out 

of earnings and profits and are ordinary income to you. 

This means they are not capital gains. You can assume 

that any dividend you receive on common or preferred 

stock is an ordinary dividend unless the paying corporation or mutual fund tells you otherwise. Ordinary dividends 

will be shown in box 1a of the Form 1099-DIV you receive.

Qualified Dividends

Qualified dividends are the ordinary dividends subject to 

the same 0%, 15%, or 20% maximum tax rate that applies 

to net capital gain. They should be shown in box 1b of the 

Form 1099-DIV you receive.

See the instructions for Form 1040 to calculate the income tax on net capital gain and qualified dividends.

The maximum rate on qualified dividends applies only if 

all of the following requirements are met.

• The dividends must have been paid by a U.S. corporation or a qualified foreign corporation. (See Qualified 

foreign corporation, later.)

• The dividends are not of the type listed later under 

Dividends that are not qualified dividends.

• You meet the holding period (discussed next).

Holding period. You must have held the stock for more 

than 60 days during the 121-day period that begins 60 

days before the ex-dividend date. The ex-dividend date is 

the first date following the declaration of a dividend on 

which the buyer of a stock is not entitled to receive the 

next dividend payment. When counting the number of 

days you held the stock, include the day you disposed of 

the stock, but not the day you acquired it. See the examples below.

Exception for preferred stock. In the case of preferred stock, you must have held the stock more than 90 

days during the 181-day period that begins 90 days before 

the ex-dividend date if the dividends are due to periods totaling more than 366 days. If the preferred dividends are 

due to periods totaling less than 367 days, the holding period in the preceding paragraph applies.

Example 1. You bought 5,000 shares of XYZ Corp. 

common stock on July 5, 2023. XYZ Corp. paid a cash 

dividend of 10 cents per share. The ex-dividend date was 

July 12, 2023. Your Form 1099-DIV from XYZ Corp. shows 

$500 in box 1a (ordinary dividends) and in box 1b (qualified dividends). However, you sold the 5,000 shares on 

August 8, 2023. You held your shares of XYZ Corp. for 

only 34 days of the 121-day period (from July 6, 2023, 

through August 8, 2023). The 121-day period began on 

May 13, 2023 (60 days before the ex-dividend date), and 

ended on September 10, 2023. You have no qualified dividends from XYZ Corp. because you held the XYZ stock 

for less than 61 days.

Example 2. Assume the same facts as in Example 1 

except that you bought the stock on July 11, 2023 (the day 

before the ex-dividend date), and you sold the stock on 

September 13, 2023. You held the stock for 63 days (from 

July 12, 2023, through September 13, 2023). The $500 of 

qualified dividends shown in box 1b of your Form 

1099-DIV are all qualified dividends because you held the 

stock for 61 days of the 121-day period (from July 12, 

2023, through September 13, 2023).

Example 3. You bought 10,000 shares of ABC Mutual 

Fund common stock on July 5, 2023. ABC Mutual Fund 

paid a cash dividend of 10 cents per share. The ex-dividend date was July 12, 2023. The ABC Mutual Fund advises you that the portion of the dividend eligible to be treated as qualified dividends equals 2 cents per share. Your 

Form 1099-DIV from ABC Mutual Fund shows total ordinary dividends of $1,000 and qualified dividends of $200. 

However, you sold the 10,000 shares on August 8, 2023. 

You have no qualified dividends from ABC Mutual Fund 

because you held the ABC Mutual Fund stock for less 

than 61 days.

Holding period reduced where risk of loss is diminished. When determining whether you met the minimum holding period discussed earlier, you cannot count 

any day during which you meet any of the following conditions.

28 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
1. You had an option to sell, were under a contractual 

obligation to sell, or had made (and not closed) a 

short sale of substantially identical stock or securities.

2. You were grantor (writer) of an option to buy substantially identical stock or securities.

3. Your risk of loss is diminished by holding one or more 

other positions in substantially similar or related property.

For information about how to apply condition (3), see 

Regulations section 1.246-5.

Qualified foreign corporation. A foreign corporation is 

a qualified foreign corporation if it meets any of the following conditions.

1. The corporation is incorporated in a U.S. territory.

2. The corporation is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States 

that the Department of the Treasury determines is satisfactory for this purpose and that includes an exchange of information program. For a list of those 

treaties, see Table 1-3.

3. The corporation does not meet (1) or (2) above, but 

the stock for which the dividend is paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United 

States. See Readily tradable stock, later.

Exception. A corporation is not a qualified foreign corporation if it is a passive foreign investment company during its tax year in which the dividends are paid or during its 

previous tax year.

Controlled foreign corporation (CFC). Dividends 

paid out of a CFC's earnings and profits that were not previously taxed are qualified dividends if the CFC is otherwise a qualified foreign corporation and the other requirements in this discussion are met. Certain dividends paid 

by a CFC that would be treated as a passive foreign investment company but for section 1297(d) of the Internal 

Revenue Code may be treated as qualified dividends. For 

more information, see Notice 2004-70, which can be 

found at IRS.gov/irb/2004-44_IRB#NOT-2004-70.

Readily tradable stock. Any stock or American depositary receipt in respect of that stock is considered to 

satisfy requirement (3) under Qualified foreign corporation 

if it is listed on a national securities exchange that is registered under section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 

1934 or on the Nasdaq Stock Market. For a list of the exchanges that meet these requirements, see National 

Securities Exchange | Investor.gov.

Table 1-3. Income Tax Treaties

Income tax treaties that the United States has with the following 

countries satisfy requirement (2) under Qualified foreign corporation.

Australia Indonesia Romania

Austria Ireland Russia

Bangladesh Israel Federation

Barbados Italy Slovak

Belgium Jamaica Republic

Bulgaria Japan Slovenia

Canada Kazakhstan South Africa

China Korea Spain

Cyprus Latvia Sri Lanka

Czech Lithuania Sweden

Republic Luxembourg Switzerland

Denmark Malta Thailand

Egypt Mexico Trinidad

Estonia Morocco and

Finland Netherlands Tobago

France New Zealand Tunisia

Germany Norway Turkey

Greece Pakistan Ukraine

Hungary Philippines United

Iceland Poland Kingdom

India Portugal Venezuela

Note. The treaty with Hungary is terminated as of 

2024. The treaty ceases to have effect for tax withheld at 

source for amounts paid or credited on or after January 1, 

2024. The treaty ceases to have effect for other taxes for 

taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2024. A 

new treaty with Chile comes into effect in 2024. The treaty 

comes into effect for tax withheld at source for amounts 

paid or credited on or after February 1, 2024. The treaty 

comes into effect for other taxes for taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2024.

For the latest information about developments related to Pub. 550, such as tax treaties between 

the United States and particular countries, go to 

www.IRS.gov/Pub550.

Dividends that are not qualified dividends. The following dividends are not qualified dividends. They are not 

qualified dividends even if they are shown in box 1b of 

Form 1099-DIV.

• Capital gain distributions.

• Dividends paid on deposits with mutual savings 

banks, cooperative banks, credit unions, U.S. building 

and loan associations, U.S. savings and loan associations, federal savings and loan associations, and similar financial institutions. Report these amounts as interest income.

• Dividends from a corporation that is a tax-exempt organization or farmer's cooperative during the corporation's tax year in which the dividends were paid or during the corporation's previous tax year.

• Dividends paid by a corporation on employer securities held on the date of record by an employee stock 

ownership plan (ESOP) maintained by that 

corporation.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 29
• Dividends on any share of stock to the extent you are 

obligated (whether under a short sale or otherwise) to 

make related payments for positions in substantially 

similar or related property.

• Payments in lieu of dividends, but only if you know or 

have reason to know the payments are not qualified 

dividends.

• Payments shown on Form 1099-DIV, box 1b, from a 

foreign corporation to the extent you know or have reason to know the payments are not qualified dividends.

Dividends Used To

Buy More Stock

The corporation in which you own stock may have a dividend reinvestment plan. This plan lets you choose to use 

your dividends to buy (through an agent) more shares of 

stock in the corporation instead of receiving the dividends 

in cash. Most mutual funds also permit shareholders to 

automatically reinvest distributions in more shares in the 

fund, instead of receiving cash. If you use your dividends 

to buy more stock at a price equal to its fair market value, 

you must still report the dividends as income.

If you are a member of a dividend reinvestment plan 

that lets you buy more stock at a price less than its fair 

market value, you must report as dividend income the fair 

market value of the additional stock on the dividend payment date.

You also must report as dividend income any service 

charge subtracted from your cash dividends before the 

dividends are used to buy the additional stock. But you 

may be able to deduct the service charge.

In some dividend reinvestment plans, you can invest 

more cash to buy shares of stock at a price less than fair 

market value. If you choose to do this, you must report as 

dividend income the difference between the cash you invest and the fair market value of the stock you buy. When 

figuring this amount, use the fair market value of the stock 

on the dividend payment date.

Money Market Funds

Report amounts you receive from money market funds as 

dividend income. Money market funds are a type of mutual fund and should not be confused with bank money 

market accounts that pay interest.

Capital Gain Distributions

Capital gain distributions (also called capital gain dividends) are paid to you or credited to your account by mutual funds (or other regulated investment companies) and 

real estate investment trusts (REITs). They will be shown 

in box 2a of the Form 1099-DIV you receive from the mutual fund or REIT.

Report capital gain distributions as long-term capital 

gains, regardless of how long you owned your shares in 

the mutual fund or REIT. See Capital gain distributions under How To Report Dividend Income, later in this chapter.

Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF). Effective December 22, 2017, section 1400Z-2 provides a temporary deferral of inclusion in gross income for capital gains invested in QOFs, and permanent exclusion of capital gains 

from the sale or exchange of an investment in the QOF if 

the investment is held for at least 10 years. See the Form 

8949 instructions on how to report your election to defer 

eligible gains invested in a QOF. For additional information, please see Opportunity Zones Frequently Asked 

Questions available at www.IRS.gov/Newsroom/

Opportunity-Zones-Frequently-Asked-Questions.

Qualified Opportunity Investment. If you held a qualified investment in a qualified opportunity fund (QOF) at 

any time during the year, you must file your return with 

Form 8997, Initial and Annual Statement of Qualified Opportunity Fund Investments, attached. See Form 8997 instructions.

Undistributed capital gains of mutual funds and REITs. Some mutual funds and REITs keep their long-term 

capital gains and pay tax on them. You must treat your 

share of these gains as distributions, even though you did 

not actually receive them. However, they are not included 

on Form 1099-DIV. Instead, they are reported to you in 

box 1a of Form 2439.

Form 2439 also will show how much, if any, of the undistributed capital gains is:

• Unrecaptured section 1250 gain (box 1b),

• Gain from qualified small business stock (section 

1202 gain, box 1c), or

• Collectibles (28%) gain (box 1d).

For information about these terms, see Capital Gain Tax 

Rates in chapter 4.

The tax paid on these gains by the mutual fund or REIT 

is shown in box 2 of Form 2439.

Basis adjustment. Increase your basis in your mutual 

fund, or your interest in a REIT, by the difference between 

the gain you report and the credit you claim for the tax 

paid.

Nondividend Distributions

A nondividend distribution is a distribution that is not paid 

out of the earnings and profits of a corporation or a mutual 

fund. You should receive a Form 1099-DIV or other statement showing you the nondividend distribution. On Form 

1099-DIV, a nondividend distribution will be shown in 

box 3. If you do not receive such a statement, you report 

the distribution as an ordinary dividend.

Basis adjustment. A nondividend distribution reduces 

the basis of your stock. It is not taxed until your basis in 

the stock is fully recovered. This nontaxable portion also is 

called a return of capital; it is a return of your investment in 

the stock of the company. If you buy stock in a corporation 

in different lots at different times, and you cannot definitely 

30 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
identify the shares subject to the nondividend distribution, 

reduce the basis of your earliest purchases first.

When the basis of your stock has been reduced to zero, 

report any additional nondividend distribution you receive 

as a capital gain. Whether you report it as a long-term or 

short-term capital gain depends on how long you have 

held the stock. See Holding Period in chapter 4.

Example 1. You bought stock in 2010 for $100. In 

2013, you received a nondividend distribution of $80. You 

did not include this amount in your income, but you reduced the basis of your stock to $20. You received a nondividend distribution of $30 in 2023. The first $20 of this 

amount reduced your basis to zero. You report the other 

$10 as a long-term capital gain for 2023. You must report 

as a long-term capital gain any nondividend distribution 

you receive on this stock in later years.

Example 2. You bought shares in XYZ Mutual Fund in 

2019 for $12 per share. In 2020, you received a nondividend distribution of $5 per share. You reduced your basis 

in each share by $5 to an adjusted basis of $7. In 2021, 

you received a nondividend distribution of $1 per share 

and further reduced your basis in each share to $6. In 

2022, you received a nondividend distribution of $2 per 

share. Your basis was reduced to $4 per share. In 2023, 

the nondividend distribution from the mutual fund was $5 

per share. You reduce your basis in each share to zero 

and report $1 of gain per share. See the Instructions for 

Form 8949 for details and more information.

For more information on Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040), see Reporting Capital Gains 

and Losses in chapter 4. Also, see the Instructions for Form 8949 and the Instructions for Schedule D 

(Form 1040).

Liquidating Distributions

Liquidating distributions, sometimes called liquidating dividends, are distributions you receive during a partial or 

complete liquidation of a corporation. These distributions 

are, at least in part, one form of a return of capital. They 

may be paid in one or more installments. You will receive 

Form 1099-DIV from the corporation showing you the 

amount of the liquidating distribution in box 9 or 10.

Any liquidating distribution you receive is not taxable to 

you until you have recovered the basis of your stock. After 

the basis of your stock has been reduced to zero, you 

must report the liquidating distribution as a capital gain. 

Whether you report the gain as a long-term or short-term 

capital gain depends on how long you have held the stock. 

See Holding Period in chapter 4.

Stock acquired at different times. If you acquired 

stock in the same corporation in more than one transaction, you own more than one block of stock in the corporation. If you receive distributions from the corporation in 

complete liquidation, you must divide the distribution 

among the blocks of stock you own in the following proportion: the number of shares in that block over the total 

number of shares you own. Divide distributions in partial 

TIP

liquidation among that part of the stock redeemed in the 

partial liquidation. After the basis of a block of stock is reduced to zero, you must report the part of any later distribution for that block as a capital gain.

Distributions less than basis. If the total liquidating 

distributions you receive are less than the basis of your 

stock, you may have a capital loss. You can report a capital loss only after you have received the final distribution in 

liquidation that results in the redemption or cancellation of 

the stock. Whether you report the loss as a long-term or 

short-term capital loss depends on how long you held the 

stock. See Holding Period in chapter 4.

Distributions of Stock

and Stock Rights

Distributions by a corporation of its own stock are commonly known as stock dividends. Stock rights (also known 

as “stock options”) are distributions by a corporation of 

rights to acquire the corporation's stock. Generally, stock 

dividends and stock rights are not taxable to you, and you 

do not report them on your return.

Taxable stock dividends and stock rights. Distributions of stock dividends and stock rights are taxable to you 

if any of the following apply.

1. You or any other shareholder have the choice to receive cash or other property instead of stock or stock 

rights.

2. The distribution gives cash or other property to some 

shareholders and an increase in the percentage interest in the corporation's assets or earnings and profits 

to other shareholders.

3. The distribution is in convertible preferred stock and 

has the same result as in (2).

4. The distribution gives preferred stock to some common stock shareholders and common stock to other 

common stock shareholders.

5. The distribution is on preferred stock. (The distribution, however, is not taxable if it is an increase in the 

conversion ratio of convertible preferred stock made 

solely to take into account a stock dividend, stock 

split, or similar event that would otherwise result in reducing the conversion right.)

The term “stock” includes rights to acquire stock, and 

the term “shareholder” includes a holder of rights or convertible securities.

If you receive taxable stock dividends or stock rights, 

include their fair market value at the time of distribution in 

your income.

Constructive distributions. You must treat certain 

transactions that increase your proportionate interest in 

the earnings and profits or assets of a corporation as if 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 31
they were distributions of stock or stock rights. These constructive distributions are taxable if they have the same result as a distribution described in (2), (3), (4), or (5) of the 

above discussion.

This treatment applies to a change in your stock's conversion ratio or redemption price, a difference between 

your stock's redemption price and issue price, a redemption not treated as a sale or exchange of your stock, and 

any other transaction having a similar effect on your interest in the corporation.

Preferred stock redeemable at a premium. If you 

receive preferred stock having a redemption price higher 

than its issue price, the difference (the redemption premium) generally is taxable as a constructive distribution of 

additional stock on the preferred stock.

For stock issued before October 10, 1990, you include 

the redemption premium in your income ratably over the 

period during which the stock cannot be redeemed. For 

stock issued after October 9, 1990, you include the redemption premium on the basis of its economic accrual 

over the period during which the stock cannot be redeemed, as if it were original issue discount on a debt instrument. See Original Issue Discount (OID), earlier in this 

chapter.

The redemption premium is not a constructive distribution, and is not taxable as a result, in the following situations.

1. The stock was issued before October 10, 1990 (before December 20, 1995, if redeemable solely at the 

option of the issuer), and the redemption premium is 

“reasonable.” (For stock issued before October 10, 

1990, only the part of the redemption premium that is 

not “reasonable” is a constructive distribution.) The redemption premium is reasonable if it is not more than 

10% of the issue price on stock not redeemable for 5 

years from the issue date or is in the nature of a penalty for making a premature redemption.

2. The stock was issued after October 9, 1990 (after December 19, 1995, if redeemable solely at the option of 

the issuer), and the redemption premium is de minimis. The redemption premium is de minimis if it is less 

than one-fourth of 1% (0.0025) of the redemption 

price multiplied by the number of full years from the 

date of issue to the date redeemable.

3. The stock was issued after October 9, 1990, and must 

be redeemed at a specified time or is redeemable at 

your option, but the redemption is unlikely because it 

is subject to a contingency outside your control (not 

including the possibility of default, insolvency, etc.).

4. The stock was issued after December 19, 1995, and 

is redeemable solely at the option of the issuer, but 

the redemption premium is in the nature of a penalty 

for premature redemption or redemption is not more 

likely than not to occur. The redemption will be treated 

under a “safe harbor” as not more likely than not to occur if all of the following are true.

a. You and the issuer are not related under the rules 

discussed in chapter 4 under Losses on Sales or 

Trades of Property, substituting “20%” for “50%.”

b. There are no plans, arrangements, or agreements 

that effectively require or are intended to compel 

the issuer to redeem the stock.

c. The redemption would not reduce the stock's 

yield.

Basis. Your basis in stock or stock rights received in a 

taxable distribution is their fair market value when distributed. If you receive stock or stock rights that are not taxable to you, see Stocks and Bonds, later, for information on 

how to figure their basis.

Fractional shares. You may not own enough stock in a 

corporation to receive a full share of stock if the corporation declares a stock dividend. However, with the approval 

of the shareholders, the corporation may set up a plan in 

which fractional shares are not issued but instead are 

sold, and the cash proceeds are given to the shareholders. Any cash you receive for fractional shares under such 

a plan is treated as an amount realized on the sale of the 

fractional shares. Report this transaction on Form 8949. 

Enter your gain or loss, the difference between the cash 

you receive and the basis of the fractional shares sold, in 

column (h) of Schedule D (Form 1040) in Part I or Part II, 

whichever is appropriate.

Report these transactions on Form 8949 with the 

correct box checked.

For more information on Form 8949 and Schedule D 

(Form 1040), see Reporting Capital Gains and Losses in 

chapter 4. Also, see the Instructions for Form 8949 and 

the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040).

Example. You own one share of common stock that 

you bought on January 6, 2014, for $100. The corporation 

declared a common stock dividend of 5% on June 30, 

2023. The fair market value of the stock at the time the 

stock dividend was declared was $200. You were paid $10 

for the fractional-share stock dividend under a plan described in the discussion above. You figure your gain or loss 

as follows.

Fair market value of old stock ............... $200.00 

Fair market value of stock dividend

(cash received) ........................ + 10.00 

Fair market value of old stock and stock dividend ... $210.00 

Basis (cost) of old stock

after the stock dividend

(($200 ÷ $210) × $100) ................... $95.24

Basis (cost) of stock dividend

(($10 ÷ $210) × $100) .................... + 4.76 

Total ............................... $100.00 

Cash received ......................... $10.00

Basis (cost) of stock dividend ............... − 4.76 

Gain $5.24 

CAUTION

!

32 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
Because you had held the share of stock for more than 

1 year at the time the stock dividend was declared, your 

gain on the stock dividend is a long-term capital gain.

Scrip dividends. A corporation that declares a stock 

dividend may issue you a scrip certificate that entitles you 

to a fractional share. The certificate generally is nontaxable when you receive it. If you choose to have the corporation sell the certificate for you and give you the proceeds, 

your gain or loss is the difference between the proceeds 

and the part of your basis in the corporation's stock allocated to the certificate.

However, if you receive a scrip certificate that you can 

choose to redeem for cash instead of stock, the certificate 

is taxable when you receive it. You must include its fair 

market value in income on the date you receive it.

Other Distributions

You may receive any of the following distributions during 

the year.

Exempt-interest dividends. Exempt-interest dividends 

you receive from a mutual fund or other regulated investment company are not included in your taxable income. 

(However, see Information reporting requirement, next.) 

Exempt-interest dividends should be shown in box 12 of 

Form 1099-DIV.

Information reporting requirement. Although exempt-interest dividends are not taxable, you must show 

them on your tax return if you have to file a return. See Reporting tax-exempt interest, earlier.

Alternative minimum tax treatment. Exempt-interest 

dividends paid from specified private activity bonds may 

be subject to the AMT. The exempt-interest dividends subject to the AMT should be shown in box 13 of Form 

1099-DIV. See Form 6251 and its instructions for more information.

Dividends on insurance policies. Insurance policy dividends the insurer keeps and uses to pay your premiums 

are not taxable. However, you must report as taxable interest income the interest that is paid or credited on dividends left with the insurance company.

If dividends on an insurance contract (other than a 

modified endowment contract) are distributed to you, they 

are a partial return of the premiums you paid. Do not include them in your gross income until they are more than 

the total of all net premiums you paid for the contract. (For 

information on the treatment of a distribution from a modified endowment contract, see Distribution Before Annuity 

Starting Date From a Nonqualified Plan under Taxation of 

Nonperiodic Payments in Pub. 575.) See instructions for 

the Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR for where to report.

Dividends on veterans' insurance. Dividends you receive on veterans' insurance policies are not taxable. In 

addition, interest on dividends left with the Department of 

Veterans Affairs is not taxable.

Patronage dividends. Generally, patronage dividends 

you receive in money from a cooperative organization are 

included in your income. You should receive Form 

1099-PATR, Taxable Distributions Received from Cooperatives.

Do not include in your income patronage dividends you 

receive on:

• Property bought for your personal use, or

• Capital assets or depreciable property bought for use 

in your business. But you must reduce the basis (cost) 

of the items bought. If the dividend is more than the 

adjusted basis of the assets, you must report the excess as income.

These rules are the same whether the cooperative paying the dividend is a taxable or tax-exempt cooperative.

Alaska Permanent Fund dividends. Do not report 

these amounts as dividends. Instead, include these 

amounts on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8g.

How To Report

Dividend Income

Terms you may need to know 

(see Glossary):

Nominee

Restricted stock

Use Form 1040 or 1040-SR to report your dividend income. Report the total of your ordinary dividends on 

line 3b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Report qualified dividends on line 3a.

Form 1099-DIV. If you owned stock on which you received $10 or more in dividends and other distributions, 

you should receive a Form 1099-DIV. Even if you do not 

receive a Form 1099-DIV, you must report all your dividend income.

See Form 1099-DIV and its instructions for more information on how to report dividend income.

Form 1040 or 1040-SR. You must complete Schedule B 

(Form 1040), Part II, and attach it to your Form 1040 or 

1040-SR, if:

• Your ordinary dividends (Form 1099-DIV, box 1a) are 

more than $1,500, or

• You received, as a nominee, dividends that actually 

belong to someone else.

If your ordinary dividends are more than $1,500, you also 

must complete Schedule B (Form 1040), Part III.

List on Schedule B (Form 1040), Part II, line 5, each 

payer's name and the ordinary dividends you received. If 

your securities are held by a brokerage firm (in “street 

name”), list the name of the brokerage firm shown on 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 33
Form 1099-DIV as the payer. If your stock is held by a 

nominee who is the owner of record, and the nominee 

credited or paid you dividends on the stock, show the 

name of the nominee and the dividends you received or 

for which you were credited.

Enter on line 6 the total of the amounts listed on line 5. 

(However, if you hold stock as a nominee, see Nominees, 

later.) Also, enter this total on line 3b of Form 1040 or 

1040-SR.

Dividends received on restricted stock. Restricted 

stock is stock you get from your employer for services you 

perform and that is nontransferable and subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture. You do not have to include the 

value of the stock in your income when you receive it. 

However, if you get dividends on restricted stock, you 

must include them in your income as wages, not dividends. See Restricted Property in Pub. 525 for information 

on restricted stock dividends.

Your employer should include these dividends in the 

wages shown on your Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. If you also get a Form 1099-DIV for these dividends, 

list them on Schedule B (Form 1040), Part II, line 5, with 

the other dividends you received. Enter a subtotal of all 

your dividend income several rows above line 6. Below the 

subtotal, enter “Dividends on restricted stock reported as 

wages on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 1,” and enter the 

dividends included in your wages on line 1 of Form 1040 

or 1040-SR. Subtract this amount from the subtotal and 

enter the result on line 6.

Election. You can choose to include the value of restricted stock in gross income as pay for services. If you 

make this choice, report the dividends on the stock like 

any other dividends. List them on Part II, line 5, of Schedule B (Form 1040), along with your other dividends (if the 

amount of ordinary dividends received from all sources is 

more than $1,500). If you receive both a Form 1099-DIV 

and a Form W-2 showing these dividends, do not include 

the dividends in your wages reported on line 1 of Form 

1040 or 1040-SR. Attach a statement to your Form 1040 

or 1040-SR explaining why the amount shown on line 1 of 

your Form 1040 or 1040-SR is different from the amount 

shown on your Form W-2.

Independent contractor. If you received restricted 

stock for services as an independent contractor, the rules 

in the previous discussion apply. Generally, you must treat 

dividends you receive on the stock as income from 

self-employment.

Qualified dividends. Report qualified dividends (Form 

1099-DIV, box 1b) on line 3a of Form 1040 or 1040-SR. 

The amount in box 1b is already included in box 1a. Do 

not add the amount in box 1b to, or subtract it from, the 

amount in box 1a. Do not include any of the following on 

line 3a.

• Qualified dividends you received as a nominee. See 

Nominees, later.

• Dividends on stock for which you did not meet the 

holding period. See Holding period, earlier, under 

Qualified Dividends.

• Dividends on any share of stock to the extent you are 

obligated (whether under a short sale or otherwise) to 

make related payments for positions in substantially 

similar or related property.

• Payments in lieu of dividends, but only if you know or 

have reason to know the payments are not qualified 

dividends.

• Payments shown on Form 1099-DIV, box 1b, from a 

foreign corporation to the extent you know or have reason to know the payments are not qualified dividends.

If you have qualified dividends, you must figure your tax 

by completing the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain 

Tax Worksheet in the Form 1040 or 1040-SR instructions 

or the Schedule D Tax Worksheet in the Schedule D 

(Form 1040) instructions, whichever applies.

Investment interest deducted. If you claim a deduction for investment interest, you may have to reduce the 

amount of your qualified dividends that are eligible for the 

0%, 15%, or 20% tax rate. Reduce it by the qualified dividends you choose to include in investment income when 

figuring the limit on your investment interest deduction. 

This is done on the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain 

Tax Worksheet or the Schedule D Tax Worksheet. For 

more information about the limit on investment interest, 

see Interest Expenses in chapter 3.

Capital gain distributions. If you received capital gain 

distributions, you report them directly on Form 1040 or 

1040-SR, line 7; or on Schedule D (Form 1040), line 13, 

depending on your situation. If you received capital gain 

distributions from a mutual fund or real estate investment 

trust (REIT), the distributions of net realized short-term 

capital gains are not treated as capital gains. Instead, they 

are included on Form 1099-DIV as ordinary dividends. Report them on your tax return as ordinary dividends.

Exceptions to filing Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 

1040). There are certain situations where you may not 

have to file Form 8949 and/or Schedule D (Form 1040).

Exception 1. You do not have to file Form 8949 or 

Schedule D (Form 1040) if you have no capital losses and 

your only capital gains are capital gain distributions from 

Form(s) 1099-DIV, box 2a. (If any Form(s) 1099-DIV you 

receive have an amount in box 2b (unrecaptured section 

1250 gain), box 2c (section 1202 gain), or box 2d (collectibles (28%) gain), you do not qualify for this exception.) If 

you qualify for this exception, report your capital gain distributions directly on line 7 of Form 1040 or 1040-SR (and 

check the box). Also, use the Qualified Dividends and 

Capital Gain Tax Worksheet in the Form 1040 or 1040-SR 

instructions to figure your tax.

Exception 2. You must file Schedule D (Form 1040), 

but generally do not have to file Form 8949, if Exception 1 

does not apply and your only capital gains and losses are:

• Capital gain distributions;

• A capital loss carryover;

34 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
• A gain from Form 2439; Form 6252, Installment Sale 

Income; or Part I of Form 4797, Sales of Business 

Property;

• A gain or loss from Form 4684, Casualties and Thefts; 

Form 6781, Gains and Losses From Section 1256 

Contracts and Straddles; or Form 8824;

• A gain or loss from a partnership, S corporation, estate, or trust; or

• Gains and losses from transactions for which you received a Form 1099-B that shows basis was reported 

to the IRS and for which you do not need to make any 

adjustments in column (g) of Form 8949 or enter any 

codes in column (f) of Form 8949.

Undistributed capital gains. Follow the Instructions 

for the Shareholder on Form 2439 to report undistributed 

capital gains and the tax paid by the mutual fund on those 

gains.

Nondividend distributions. Report nondividend distributions (box 3 of Form 1099-DIV) only after your basis in 

the stock has been reduced to zero. After the basis of your 

stock has been reduced to zero, you must show this excess amount on Form 8949, Part I, if you held the stock 1 

year or less. Show it on Form 8949, Part II, if you held the 

stock for more than 1 year. Enter the name of the company in column (a) of Form 8949. Report the amount of 

the excess distribution in column (d) and your zero basis 

in column (e) of Form 8949.

Report these transactions on Form 8949 with the 

correct box checked.

For more information on Form 8949 and Schedule D 

(Form 1040), see Reporting Capital Gains and Losses in 

chapter 4. Also, see the Instructions for Form 8949 and 

the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040).

Nominees. If you received ordinary dividends as a nominee (that is, the dividends are in your name but actually 

belong to someone else), include them on Part II, line 5 of 

Schedule B (Form 1040). Several rows above line 6, put a 

subtotal of all dividend income listed on line 5. Below this 

subtotal, enter “Nominee Distribution” and show the 

amount received as a nominee. Subtract the total of your 

nominee distributions from the subtotal. Enter the result 

on line 6.

If you received a capital gain distribution or were allocated an undistributed capital gain as a nominee, report only 

the amount that belongs to you on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, 

line 7; or Schedule D (Form 1040), line 13, whichever is 

appropriate. Attach a statement to your return showing the 

full amount you received or were allocated and the 

amount you received or were allocated as a nominee.

File Form 1099-DIV with the IRS. If you received dividends as a nominee in 2023, you must file a Form 

1099-DIV (or Form 2439) for those dividends with the IRS. 

Send the Form 1099-DIV with a Form 1096 to your Internal 

Revenue Service Center by February 28, 2024 (April 1, 

2024, if you file Form 1099-DIV electronically). Give the 

actual owner of the dividends Copy B of the Form 

CAUTION

!

1099-DIV by January 31, 2024. On Form 1099-DIV, you 

should be listed as the “Payer.” The other owner should be 

listed as the “Recipient.” You do not, however, have to file 

a Form 1099-DIV to show payments for your spouse. For 

more information about the reporting requirements and 

the penalties for failure to file (or furnish) certain information returns, see the General Instructions for Certain Information Returns and the Instructions for Form 2439.

Liquidating distributions. If you receive a liquidating 

distribution on stock, the corporation will give you a Form 

1099-DIV showing the liquidating distribution in boxes 9 

and 10.

Stripped

Preferred Stock

If the dividend rights are stripped from certain preferred 

stock, the holder of the stripped preferred stock may have 

to include amounts in income equal to the amounts that 

would have been included if the stock were a bond with 

OID.

Stripped preferred stock defined. Stripped preferred 

stock is any stock that meets both of the following tests.

1. There has been a separation in ownership between 

the stock and any dividend on the stock that has not 

become payable.

2. The stock:

a. Is limited and preferred as to dividends,

b. Does not participate in corporate growth to any 

significant extent, and

c. Has a fixed redemption price.

Treatment of buyer. If you buy stripped preferred stock 

after April 30, 1993, you must include certain amounts in 

your gross income while you hold the stock. These 

amounts are ordinary income. They are equal to the 

amounts you would have included in gross income if the 

stock were a bond that:

1. Was issued on the purchase date of the stock, and

2. Has OID equal to:

a. The redemption price for the stock, minus

b. The price at which you bought the stock.

Include these amounts on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), 

line 8z.

This treatment also applies to you if you acquire the 

stock in such a way (for example, by gift) that your basis in 

the stock is determined by using a buyer's basis.

Treatment of person stripping stock. If you strip the 

rights to one or more dividends from preferred stock, you 

are treated as having purchased the stock. You are treated 

as making the purchase on the date you disposed of the 

dividend rights. Your adjusted basis in the preferred stock 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 35
is treated as your purchase price. The rules described in 

Treatment of buyer, earlier, apply to you.

REMICs, FASITs,

and Other CDOs

Holders of interests in real estate mortgage investment 

conduits (REMICs), financial asset securitization investment trusts (FASITs), and other collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) must follow special rules for reporting income and any expenses from these investment products.

REMICs

A REMIC is an entity formed for the purpose of holding a 

fixed pool of mortgages secured by interests in real property. A REMIC issues regular and residual interests to investors. A REMIC generally is not treated as a corporation, partnership, or trust. For purposes of subtitle F of the 

Internal Revenue Code (Procedure and Administration), a 

REMIC generally is treated as a partnership with the residual interest holders treated as the partners. The regular interests are treated as debt instruments.

REMIC income or loss is not income or loss from a passive activity.

For more information about the qualifications and tax 

treatment that apply to a REMIC and the interests of investors in a REMIC, see sections 860A through 860G of 

the Internal Revenue Code, and the regulations under 

those sections.

Regular Interest

A REMIC can have several classes (also known as 

“tranches”) of regular interests. A regular interest unconditionally entitles the holder to receive a specified principal 

amount (or other similar amount).

A REMIC regular interest is treated as a debt instrument for income tax purposes. Accordingly, the OID, market discount, and income reporting rules that apply to 

bonds and other debt instruments as described earlier in 

this publication under Discount on Debt Instruments apply, 

with certain modifications discussed below.

Generally, you report your income from a regular interest on line 2b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR. For more information on how to report interest and OID, see How To Report Interest Income, earlier.

Holders must use accrual method. Holders of regular 

interests must use an accrual method of accounting to report OID and interest income. Because income under an 

accrual method is not determined by the receipt of cash, 

you may have to include OID or interest income in your 

taxable income even if you have not received any cash 

payments.

Forms 1099-INT and 1099-OID. You should receive a 

copy of Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID from the REMIC. See the General Instructions for Certain Information 

Returns for information on when you should receive your 

copy of Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID and a written 

statement providing additional information. The statement 

should contain enough information to enable you to figure 

your accrual of market discount or amortizable bond premium.

Form 1099-INT shows interest income that accrued to 

you for the period you held the regular interest.

Form 1099-OID shows OID and interest, if any, that accrued to you for the period you held the regular interest. 

You will not need to make any adjustments to the amounts 

reported even if you held the regular interest for only a part 

of the calendar year. However, if you bought the regular interest at a premium or acquisition premium, see Refiguring OID shown on Form 1099-OID, earlier.

You may not get a Form 1099. Corporations and 

other persons specified in Regulations section 

1.6049-7(c) will not receive Forms 1099. These persons 

and fiscal year taxpayers may obtain tax information by 

contacting the REMIC or the issuer of the CDO, if they 

hold their interest directly from the REMIC or issuer of the 

CDO. Pub. 938, Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (REMICs) Reporting Information, explains how to request this information.

Pub. 938 is available only on the Internet at 

IRS.gov/pub938.

If you hold a regular interest or CDO through a nominee 

(rather than directly), you can request the information from 

the nominee.

Allocated investment expenses. A single-class REMIC 

will report your share of its investment expenses in box 5 

of Form 1099-INT or box 9 of Form 1099-OID. This 

amount is not deductible. A single-class REMIC is one 

that generally would be classified as a trust for tax purposes if it had not elected REMIC status.

Redemption of regular interests at maturity. Redemption of debt instruments at their maturity is treated as a 

sale or exchange. You must report redemptions on your 

tax return whether or not you realize gain or loss on the 

transaction. Your basis is your adjusted issue price, which 

includes any OID you previously reported in income.

Any amount you receive on the retirement of a debt instrument is treated as if you had sold or exchanged that 

instrument. A debt instrument is retired when it is reacquired or redeemed by the issuer and canceled.

Sale or exchange of a regular interest. Some of 

your gain on the sale or exchange of a REMIC regular interest may be ordinary income. The ordinary income part, 

if any, is:

• The amount that would have been included in your income if the yield to maturity on the regular interest had 

been 110% of the applicable federal rate at the beginning of your holding period, minus

36 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
• The amount you included in your income.

Residual Interest

A residual interest is an interest in a REMIC that is not a 

regular interest. It is designated as a residual interest by 

the REMIC.

If you acquire a residual interest in a REMIC, you must 

take into account on a quarterly basis your daily portion of 

the taxable income or net loss of the REMIC for each day 

during the tax year you hold the residual interest. You must 

report these amounts as ordinary income or loss.

Basis in the residual interest. Your basis in the residual 

interest is increased by taxable income you take into account. Your basis is decreased (but not below zero) by the 

cash or the fair market value of any property distributed to 

you, and by any net loss you have taken into account. If 

you sell or transfer your residual interest, you must adjust 

your basis to reflect your share of the REMIC's taxable income or net loss immediately before the sale or transfer. 

See Wash Sales, in chapter 4, for more information about 

selling a residual interest.

Treatment of distributions. You must include in your 

gross income the part of any distribution that is more than 

your adjusted basis. Treat the distribution as a gain from 

the sale or exchange of your residual interest.

Schedule Q (Form 1066). If you hold a REMIC residual 

interest, you should receive Schedule Q (Form 1066), 

Quarterly Notice to Residual Interest Holder of REMIC 

Taxable Income or Net Loss Allocation, and instructions 

from the REMIC each quarter. Schedule Q (Form 1066) 

will indicate your share of the REMIC's quarterly taxable 

income (or loss). Do not attach Schedule Q (Form 1066) 

to your tax return. Keep it for your records.

Use Schedule E (Form 1040), Part IV, to report your total share of the REMIC's taxable income (or loss) for each 

quarter included in your tax year.

For more information about reporting your income (or 

loss) from a residual interest in a REMIC, follow the Instructions for Schedule Q (Form 1066) and Schedule E 

(Form 1040).

Collateralized Debt Obligations 

(CDOs)

A CDO is a debt instrument, other than a REMIC regular 

interest, that is secured by a pool of mortgages or other 

evidence of debt and that has principal payments subject 

to acceleration. (Note: While REMIC regular interests are 

collateralized debt obligations, they have unique rules that 

do not apply to CDOs issued before 1987.) CDOs, also 

known as “pay-through bonds,” are commonly divided into 

different classes (also called “tranches”).

CDOs can be secured by a pool of mortgages, automobile loans, equipment leases, or credit card receivables.

For more information about the qualifications and the 

tax treatment that apply to an issuer of a CDO, see section 

1272(a)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations under that section.

The OID, market discount, and income-reporting rules 

that apply to bonds and other debt instruments, as described earlier in this chapter under Discount on Debt Instruments, also apply to a CDO.

You must include interest income from your CDO in 

your gross income under your regular method of accounting. Also, include any OID accrued on your CDO during 

the tax year.

Generally, you report your income from a CDO on 

line 2b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR. For more information 

about reporting these amounts on your return, see How To 

Report Interest Income, earlier.

Forms 1099-INT and 1099-OID. You should receive a 

copy of Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID generally by 

January 31, 2024. See the General Instructions for Certain 

Information Returns for information on when you should 

receive your copy of Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID 

and a written statement providing additional information. 

The statement should contain enough information about 

the CDO to enable you to figure your accrual of market 

discount or amortizable bond premium.

Form 1099-INT shows the interest income paid to you 

for the period you held the CDO.

Form 1099-OID shows the OID accrued to you and the 

interest, if any, paid to you for the period you held the 

CDO. You should not need to make any adjustments to 

the amounts reported even if you held the CDO for only a 

part of the calendar year. However, if you bought the CDO 

at a premium or acquisition premium, see Refiguring OID 

shown on Form 1099-OID, earlier.

If you did not receive a Form 1099, see You may not get 

a Form 1099, earlier.

FASITs

A financial asset securitization investment trust (FASIT) is 

an entity that securitizes debt obligations such as credit 

card receivables, home equity loans, and automobile 

loans.

A regular interest in a FASIT is treated as a debt instrument. The rules described under Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), earlier, apply to a regular interest in a FASIT, except that a holder of a regular interest in a FASIT 

must use an accrual method of accounting to report OID 

and interest income.

For more information about FASITs, see sections 860H 

through 860L of the Internal Revenue Code.

Beginning January 1, 2005, the special rules for 

FASITs are repealed. However, the special rules 

still apply to any FASIT in existence on October 

22, 2004, to the extent that regular interests issued by the 

FASIT before that date continue to remain outstanding in 

accordance with the original terms of issuance.

CAUTION

!

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 1 Investment Income 37
S Corporations

In general, an S corporation does not pay a tax on its income. Instead, its income and expenses are passed 

through to the shareholders, who then report these items 

on their own income tax returns.

If you are an S corporation shareholder, your share of 

the corporation's current year income or loss and other tax 

items are taxed to you whether or not you receive any 

amount. Generally, those items increase or decrease the 

basis of your S corporation stock, as appropriate. For 

more information on basis adjustments for S corporation 

stock, see Stocks and Bonds, later.

Generally, S corporation distributions, except dividend 

distributions, are considered a return of capital and reduce 

your basis in the stock of the corporation. The part of any 

distribution that is more than your basis is treated as a 

gain from the sale or exchange of property. The corporation's distributions may be in the form of cash or property.

S corporation distributions are not treated as dividends 

except in certain cases in which the corporation has accumulated earnings and profits from years before it became 

an S corporation.

Reporting S corporation income, deductions, and 

credits. The S corporation should send you a copy of 

Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S) showing your share of the S 

corporation's income, credits, and deductions for the tax 

year. You must report your distributive share of the S corporation's income, gain, loss, deductions, or credits on the 

appropriate lines and schedules of your Form 1040 or 

1040-SR.

For more information about your treatment of S corporation tax items, see Shareholder's Instructions for Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S).

Limit on losses and deductions. The deduction for 

your share of losses and deductions shown on Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S) is limited to the adjusted basis of 

your stock and any debt the corporation owes you. Any 

loss or deduction not allowed because of this limit is carried over and treated as a loss or deduction in the next tax 

year.

Passive activity losses. Rules apply that limit losses 

from passive activities. Your copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 

1120S) and its instructions will explain the limits and tell 

you where on your return to report your share of S corporation items from passive activities.

Form 8582. If you have a passive activity loss from an 

S corporation, you must complete Form 8582 to figure the 

allowable loss to enter on your return. See Pub. 925 for 

more information.

Investment Clubs

An investment club is formed when a group of friends, 

neighbors, business associates, or others pool their 

money to invest in stock or other securities. The club may 

or may not have a written agreement, a charter, or bylaws.

Usually, the group operates informally with members 

pledging to pay a monthly regular amount into the club. 

Some clubs have a committee that gathers information on 

securities, selects the most promising securities, and recommends that the club invest in them. Other clubs rotate 

these responsibilities among all their members. Most 

clubs require all members to vote for or against all investments, sales, trades, and other transactions.

Identifying number. Each club must have an EIN to use 

when filing its return. The club's EIN also may have to be 

given to the payer of dividends or other income from investments recorded in the club's name. To obtain an EIN, 

apply online at IRS.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-

Self-Employed/Apply-for-an-Employer-IdentificationNumber-(EIN)-Online or file Form SS-4, Application for 

Employer Identification Number. See chapter 5, How To 

Get Tax Help, for more information about how to get this 

form.

Investments in name of member. When an investment is recorded in the name of one club member, this 

member must give its SSN to the payer of investment income. (When an investment is held in the names of two or 

more club members, the SSN of only one member must 

be given to the payer.) This member is considered the record owner for the actual owner, the investment club. This 

member is a “nominee” and must file an information return 

with the IRS. For example, the nominee member must file 

Form 1099-DIV for dividend income, showing the club as 

the owner of the dividend, its SSN, and the EIN of the 

club.

Tax Treatment of the Club

Generally, an investment club is treated as a partnership 

for federal tax purposes unless it chooses otherwise. In 

some situations, however, it is taxed as a corporation or a 

trust.

Clubs formed before 1997. Before 1997, the rules for 

determining how an investment club is treated were different from those explained in the following discussions. An 

investment club that existed before 1997 is treated for 

later years the same way it was treated before 1997, unless it chooses to be treated a different way under the new 

rules. To make that choice, the club must file Form 8832, 

Entity Classification Election.

Club as a Partnership

If your club is not taxed as a corporation or a trust, it will be 

treated as a partnership.

Filing requirement. If your investment club is treated as 

a partnership, it must file Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income. However, as a partner in the club, you 

must report on your individual return your share of the 

club's income, gains, losses, deductions, and credits for 

the club's tax year. (Its tax year generally must be the 

38 Chapter 1 Investment Income Publication 550 (2023)
same tax year as that of the partners owning a majority interest.) You must report these items whether or not you 

actually receive any distribution from the partnership.

Schedule K-1 (Form 1065). You should receive a copy 

of Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) from the partnership. The 

amounts shown on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) are your 

share of the partnership's income, deductions, and credits. Report each amount on the appropriate lines and 

schedules of your income tax return.

The club's expenses for producing or collecting income, for managing investment property, or for determining any tax are listed separately on Schedule K-1 (Form 

1065).

For more information about reporting your income from 

a partnership, see the Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) instructions. Also, see Pub. 541, Partnerships.

Passive activity losses. Rules apply that limit losses 

from passive activities. Your copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 

1065) and its instructions will tell you where on your return 

to report your share of partnership items from passive activities. If you have a passive activity loss from a partnership, you must complete Form 8582 to figure the amount 

of the allowable loss to enter on your tax return.

No social security coverage for investment club earnings. If an investment club partnership's activities are 

limited to investing in savings certificates, stock, or securities, and collecting interest or dividends for its members' 

accounts, a member's share of income is not earnings 

from self-employment. You cannot voluntarily pay the 

self-employment tax to increase your social security coverage and ultimate benefits.

Club as a Corporation

An investment club formed after 1996 is taxed as a corporation if:

• It is formed under a federal or state law that refers to it 

as incorporated or as a corporation, body corporate, 

or body politic;

• It is formed under a state law that refers to it as a 

joint-stock company or joint-stock association; or

• It chooses to be taxed as a corporation.

Choosing to be taxed as a corporation. To choose to 

be taxed as a corporation, the club cannot be a trust (see 

Club as a Trust, later) or otherwise subject to special treatment under the tax law. The club must file Form 8832 to 

make the choice.

Filing requirement. If your club is taxed as a corporation, it must file Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax 

Return. In that case, you do not report any of its income or 

expenses on your individual return. All ordinary income 

and expenses and capital gains and losses must be reported on the Form 1120. Any distribution the club makes that 

qualifies as a dividend must be reported on Form 

1099-DIV if total distributions to the shareholder are $10 

or more for the year.

You must report any distributions you receive from the 

club on your individual return. You should receive a copy 

of Form 1099-DIV from the club showing the distributions 

you received.

Some corporations can choose not to be taxed and 

have earnings taxed to the shareholders. See S Corporations, earlier.

For more information about corporations, see Pub. 542, 

Corporations.

Club as a Trust

In a few cases, an investment club is taxed as a trust. In 

general, a trust is an arrangement through which trustees 

take title to property for the purpose of protecting or conserving it for the beneficiaries under the ordinary rules applied in chancery or probate courts. An arrangement is 

treated as a trust for tax purposes if its purpose is to vest 

in trustees responsibility for protecting and conserving 

property for beneficiaries who cannot share in that responsibility and so are not associates in a joint enterprise for 

the conduct of business for profit. If you need more information about trusts, see Regulations section 301.7701-4.

Filing requirement. If your club is taxed as a trust, it 

must file Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates 

and Trusts. You should receive a copy of Schedule K-1 

(Form 1041) from the trust. Report the amounts shown on 

Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) on the appropriate lines and 

schedules of your income tax return.

2.

Tax Shelters and Other 

Reportable

Transactions

Introduction

Investments that yield tax benefits are sometimes called 

“tax shelters.” In some cases, Congress has concluded 

that the loss of revenue is an acceptable side effect of 

special tax provisions designed to encourage taxpayers to 

make certain types of investments. In many cases, however, losses from tax shelters produce little or no benefit to 

society, or the tax benefits are exaggerated beyond those 

intended. Those cases are called “abusive tax shelters.” 

An investment that is considered a tax shelter is subject to 

restrictions, including the requirement that it be disclosed. 

See Disclosure of reportable transactions, later.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 2 Tax Shelters and Other Reportable 

Transactions

39
Topics

This chapter discusses:

• Abusive Tax Shelters,

• Rules To Curb Abusive Tax Shelters,

• Investor Reporting,

• Penalties, and

• Whether To Invest.

Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publication

Accounting Periods and Methods

Determining the Value of Donated Property

Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules

Form (and Instructions)

Disclosure Statement

egulation Disclosure Statement

Noncash Charitable Contributions

Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to 

Certain Foreign Partnerships

Reportable Transaction Disclosure Statement

Material Advisor Disclosure Statement

Statement of Specified Foreign Financial 

Assets

See chapter 5, How To Get Tax Help, for information about 

getting these publications and forms.

Abusive Tax Shelters

Abusive tax shelters are marketing schemes involving artificial transactions with little or no economic reality. They 

often make use of unrealistic allocations, inflated appraisals, losses in connection with nonrecourse loans, mismatching of income and deductions, financing techniques 

that do not conform to standard commercial business 

practices, or mischaracterization of the substance of the 

transaction. Despite appearances to the contrary, the taxpayer generally risks little.

Abusive tax shelters commonly involve package deals 

designed from the start to generate losses, deductions, or 

credits that will be far more than the present or future investment. For example, abusive tax shelters may promise 

investors from the start that future inflated appraisals will 

enable them to deduct charitable contribution deductions 

based on those appraisals. (But see the appraisal requirements discussed under Rules To Curb Abusive Tax Shelters, later.) They are commonly marketed in terms of the 

ratio of tax deductions allegedly available to each dollar 

invested. This ratio (or “write-off”) is frequently said to be 

several times greater than one-to-one.

 538

 561

 925

 8275 

 8275-R 

 8283

 8865

 8886 

 8918

 8938

Because there are many types of abusive tax shelters, 

it is not possible to list all the factors you should consider 

in determining whether an offering is an abusive tax shelter. However, you should ask the following questions, 

which might provide a clue to the abusive nature of the 

plan.

• Do the tax benefits far outweigh the economic benefits? Are the tax benefits the primary reason for the 

transaction?

• Is this a transaction you would seriously consider if 

you hoped to make a profit?

• Do shelter assets really exist and, if so, are they insured for less than their purchase price?

• Is there a nontax justification for the way profits and 

losses are allocated to partners?

• Do the facts and supporting documents make economic sense? For example, are there sales and resales of the tax shelter property at ever increasing prices?

• Does the investment plan involve a gimmick, device, 

or sham to hide the economic reality of the transaction?

• Does the promoter offer to backdate documents? Are 

you instructed to backdate checks covering your investment?

• Is your debt a real debt or are you assured by the promoter that you will never have to pay it?

• Does this transaction involve laundering U.S. source 

income through foreign corporations incorporated in a 

tax haven and owned by U.S. shareholders?

Rules To Curb

Abusive Tax Shelters

Congress has enacted a series of income tax laws designed to halt the growth of abusive tax shelters. These 

provisions include the following.

Disclosure of reportable transactions. You must 

disclose information for each reportable transaction in 

which you participate. See Reportable Transaction Disclosure Statement, later.

Material advisors with respect to any reportable transaction must disclose information about the transaction on 

Form 8918, Material Advisor Disclosure Statement. To determine whether you are a material advisor to a transaction, see the Instructions for Form 8918.

Material advisors will receive a reportable transaction 

number for the disclosed reportable transaction. They 

must provide this number to all persons to whom they acted as a material advisor. They must provide the number 

at the time the transaction is entered into. If they do not 

have the number at that time, they must provide it within 

60 days from the date the number is mailed to them. For 

information on penalties for failure to disclose and failure 

to maintain lists, see sections 6707, 6707A, and 6708.

40 Chapter 2 Tax Shelters and Other Reportable 

Transactions

Publication 550 (2023)
Requirement to maintain list. Material advisors 

must maintain a list of persons to whom they provide material aid, assistance, or advice on any reportable transaction. The list must be available for inspection by the IRS, 

and the information required to be included on the list 

must generally be kept for 7 years. See Regulations section 301.6112-1 for more information (including what information is required to be included on the list).

Confidentiality privilege. The confidentiality privilege 

between you and a federally authorized tax practitioner 

does not apply to written communications made after October 21, 2004, regarding the promotion of your direct or 

indirect participation in any tax shelter.

Appraisal requirement for donated property. If you 

claim a deduction of more than $5,000 for an item or 

group of similar items of donated property, you must generally get a qualified appraisal. See section 170 and Form 

8283 for more information. If you claim a deduction of 

more than $500,000 for the donated property, you must 

generally attach the qualified appraisal to your return. If 

you file electronically, see Form 8453, U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return, and its instructions. See Pub. 561 for information about appraisals.

Passive activity loss and credit limits. The passive 

activity loss and credit rules limit the amount of losses and 

credits that can be claimed from passive activities and 

limit the amount that can offset nonpassive income, such 

as certain portfolio income from investments. See Pub. 

925 for information about income, losses, and credits from 

passive activities.

Interest on penalties. If you are assessed an accuracy-related or civil fraud penalty (as discussed under 

Penalties, later), interest will be imposed on the amount of 

the penalty from the due date of the return (including any 

extensions) to the date you pay the penalty.

Accounting method restriction. Tax shelters generally cannot use the cash method of accounting.

Uniform capitalization rules. The uniform capitalization rules generally apply to producing property or acquiring it for resale. Under those rules, the direct cost and part 

of the indirect cost of the property must be capitalized or 

included in inventory. See Pub. 538 for uniform capitalization rules.

Denial of deduction for interest on an underpayment due to a reportable transaction. You cannot deduct any interest you paid or accrued on any part of an underpayment of tax due to an understatement arising from 

a reportable transaction if the relevant facts affecting the 

tax treatment of the item are not adequately disclosed. 

See Reportable transaction, later. This rule applies to reportable transactions entered into in tax years beginning 

after October 22, 2004.

Authority for Disallowance of Tax Benefits

The IRS has published guidance concluding that the 

claimed tax benefits of various abusive tax shelters should 

be disallowed. The guidance is the IRS’s conclusion on 

how the law is applied to a particular set of facts. Guidance is published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin for taxpayers' information and also for use by IRS officials. So, if 

your return is examined and an abusive tax shelter is identified and challenged, published guidance dealing with 

that type of shelter, which disallows certain claimed tax 

shelter benefits, could serve as the basis for the examining official's challenge of the tax benefits you claimed. In 

such a case, the examiner will not compromise even if you 

or your representative believe you have authority for the 

positions taken on your tax return. In addition, the examiner can also assess penalties based on the facts and circumstances.

The courts are generally unsympathetic to taxpayers involved in abusive tax shelter schemes and 

have ruled in favor of the IRS in the majority of the 

cases in which these shelters have been challenged.

Investor Reporting

You may be required to file a reportable transaction disclosure statement.

Reportable Transaction Disclosure 

Statement

Use Form 8886 to disclose information for each reportable 

transaction in which you participated. See Reportable 

transaction, later. Generally, you must attach Form 8886 to 

your return for each tax year in which you participated in 

the transaction. Under certain circumstances, a transaction must be disclosed within 90 days of the transaction 

being identified as a listed transaction or a transaction of 

interest. See Listed transaction, later. In addition, for the 

first year Form 8886 is attached to your return, you must 

send a copy of the form to:

Internal Revenue Service

OTSA Mail Stop 4915

1973 Rulon White Blvd.

Ogden, UT 84201

If you file your return electronically, the copy sent to The 

Office of Tax Shelter Analysis (OTSA) must show exactly 

the same information, word for word, provided with the 

electronically filed return and it must be provided on the 

official IRS Form 8886 or an exact copy of the form. If you 

use a computer-generated or substitute Form 8886, it 

must be an exact copy of the official IRS form.

If you fail to file Form 8886 as required or fail to include 

any required information on the form, you may have to pay 

a penalty. See Penalty for failure to disclose a reportable 

transaction, later.

The following discussion briefly describes reportable 

transactions. For more details, see the Instructions for 

Form 8886.

CAUTION

!

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 2 Tax Shelters and Other Reportable 

Transactions

41
Reportable transaction. A reportable transaction is any 

of the following.

• A listed transaction.

• A confidential transaction.

• A transaction with contractual protection.

• A loss transaction.

• A transaction of interest entered into after November 

1, 2006.

Note. Transactions with a brief asset holding period 

were removed from the definition of reportable transaction 

for transactions entered into after August 2, 2007.

Listed transaction. A listed transaction is the same 

as, or substantially similar to, one of the types of transactions the IRS has determined to be a tax-avoidance transaction. These transactions have been identified in notices, 

regulations, and other published guidance issued by the 

IRS.

For more information, go to Abusive Tax Shelters and 

Transactions, where you will find a link to a list of listed 

transactions.

Confidential transaction. A confidential transaction 

is offered to you under conditions of confidentiality and for 

which you have paid an advisor a minimum fee. A transaction is offered under conditions of confidentiality if the advisor who is paid the fee places a limit on your disclosure 

of the tax treatment or tax structure of the transaction and 

the limit protects the confidentiality of the advisor's tax 

strategies. The transaction is treated as confidential even 

if the conditions of confidentiality are not legally binding on 

you.

Transaction with contractual protection. Generally, 

a transaction with contractual protection is one in which 

you or a related party has the right to a full or partial refund 

of fees if all or part of the intended tax consequences of 

the transaction are not sustained, or a transaction for 

which the fees are contingent on realizing the tax benefits 

from the transaction. For information on exceptions, see 

Revenue Procedure 2007-20, 2007-7 I.R.B. 517, available 

at IRS.gov/irb/2007-07_IRB#RP-2007-20.

Loss transaction. For individuals, a loss transaction 

is one that results in a deductible loss if the gross amount 

of the loss is at least $2 million in a single tax year or $4 

million in any combination of tax years. A loss from a foreign currency transaction under section 988 is a loss 

transaction if the gross amount of the loss is at least 

$50,000 in a single tax year, whether or not the loss flows 

through from an S corporation or partnership.

Certain losses (such as losses from casualties, thefts, 

and condemnations) are excepted from this category and 

do not have to be reported on Form 8886. For information 

on other exceptions, see Revenue Procedure 2013-11, 

2013-2 I.R.B. 269, available at IRS.gov/irb/

2013-02_IRB#RP-2013-11. See Updates on reportable 

transactions, later, for updates on loss transactions.

Transaction of interest. A transaction of interest is a 

transaction entered into after November 1, 2006, that is 

the same as, or substantially similar to, one of the types of 

transactions that the IRS has identified by notice, regulation, or other published guidance as a transaction of interest. For more information, go to Abusive Tax Shelters and 

Transactions, where you will find a link to a list of transactions of interest.

Updates on reportable transactions. For updates 

on all reportable transactions, go to Abusive Tax Shelters 

and Transactions.

Penalties

Investing in an abusive tax shelter may lead to substantial 

expenses. First, the promoter generally charges a substantial fee. If your return is examined by the IRS and a tax 

deficiency is determined, you will have to pay more taxes 

and interest on the underpayment, possibly a 20%, 30%, 

or even 40% accuracy-related penalty, or a 75% civil fraud 

penalty. You may also be subject to the penalty for failure 

to pay tax. These penalties are explained in the following 

paragraphs.

Accuracy-related penalties. An accuracy-related penalty of 20% can be imposed for underpayments of tax due 

to:

• Negligence or disregard of rules or regulations,

• Substantial understatement of tax,

• Substantial valuation misstatements (increased to 

40% for gross valuation misstatements),

• Transactions lacking economic substance (increased 

to 40% for nondisclosed noneconomic substance 

transactions),

• Undisclosed foreign financial asset understatements 

(40% for tax years beginning after March 18, 2010), or

• Disallowance of a deduction for a qualified conservation contribution by a pass-through entity under section 170(h)(7).

If you are charged an accuracy-related penalty, interest 

will be imposed on the amount of the penalty from the due 

date of the return (including extensions) to the date you 

pay the penalty.

The 20% penalties do not apply to any underpayment 

attributable to a reportable transaction understatement 

subject to an accuracy-related penalty (discussed later).

Negligence or disregard of rules or regulations. 

The penalty for negligence or disregard of rules or regulations is imposed only on the part of the underpayment due 

to negligence or disregard of rules or regulations. Generally, the penalty will not be charged if you can show you 

had reasonable cause for understating your tax and that 

you acted in good faith.

Negligence includes any failure to make a reasonable 

attempt to comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. It also includes any failure to keep adequate 

books and records. A return position that has a reasonable basis is not negligence. See Regulations section 

1.6662-3(b)(1).

42 Chapter 2 Tax Shelters and Other Reportable 

Transactions

Publication 550 (2023)
Disregard includes any careless, reckless, or intentional disregard of rules or regulations.

The penalty for disregard of rules and regulations can 

be avoided if all the following are true.

• You keep adequate books and records.

• You have a reasonable basis for your position on the 

tax issue.

• You make an adequate disclosure of your position.

Use Form 8275 to make your disclosure and attach it to 

your return. To disclose a position contrary to a regulation, 

use Form 8275-R. Use Form 8886 to disclose a reportable 

transaction. See Reportable transaction, earlier.

Substantial understatement of tax. An understatement is considered to be substantial if it is more than the 

greater of:

• 10% of the tax required to be shown on the return, or

• $5,000.

For tax years 2018 through 2025, if you claim any deduction allowed under section 199A, an understatement is 

considered to be substantial if it is more than the greater 

of:

• 5% of the tax required to be shown on the return, or

• $5,000.

In general, “understatement” means the excess of:

1. The amount of the tax required to be shown on the return for the tax year; over

2. The amount of the tax imposed which is shown on the 

return, reduced by any rebate (within the meaning of 

section 6211(b)(2)).

For items other than tax shelters, you can file Form 

8275 or Form 8275-R to disclose items that could cause a 

substantial understatement of income tax. In that way, you 

can avoid the substantial understatement penalty if you 

have a reasonable basis for your position on the tax issue. 

Disclosure of the tax shelter item on a tax return does not 

reduce the amount of the understatement.

Also, the understatement penalty will not be imposed if 

you can show there was reasonable cause for the underpayment caused by the understatement and that you acted in good faith. An important factor in establishing reasonable cause and good faith will be the extent of your 

effort to determine your proper tax liability under the law.

Substantial valuation misstatement. In general, you 

are liable for a 20% penalty for a substantial valuation misstatement if any the following are true.

• The value or adjusted basis of any property claimed 

on the return is 150% or more of the correct amount.

• You underpaid your tax by more than $5,000 because 

of the misstatement.

• You cannot establish that you had reasonable cause 

for the underpayment and that you acted in good faith.

You may be assessed a penalty of 40% for a gross valuation misstatement. If you misstate the value or the 

adjusted basis of property by 200% or more of the amount 

determined to be correct, you will be assessed a penalty 

of 40%, instead of 20%, of the amount you underpaid because of the gross valuation misstatement. The penalty 

rate is also 40% if the property's correct value or adjusted 

basis is zero.

Transaction lacking economic substance. The economic substance doctrine only applies to an individual 

that entered into a transaction in connection with a trade 

or business or an activity engaged in for the production of 

income. A transaction has economic substance for you as 

an individual taxpayer only if:

• The transaction changes your economic position in a 

meaningful way (apart from federal income tax effects), and

• You have a substantial purpose (apart from federal income tax effects) for entering into the transaction.

For purposes of determining whether economic substance exists, a transaction's profit potential will only be 

taken into account if the present value of the reasonably 

expected pre-tax profit from the transaction is substantial 

compared to the present value of the expected net tax 

benefits that would be allowed if the transaction were respected.

If any part of your underpayment is due to any disallowance of claimed tax benefits by reason of a transaction 

lacking economic substance or failing to meet the requirements of any similar rule of law, that part of your underpayment will be subject to the 20% accuracy-related penalty 

even if you had a reasonable cause and acted in good 

faith concerning that part.

Additionally, the penalty increases to 40% if you do not 

adequately disclose, on your return or in a statement attached to your return, the relevant facts affecting the tax 

treatment of a transaction that lacks economic substance. 

Relevant facts include any facts affecting the tax treatment 

of the transaction.

You may be subject to a 20% penalty based on 

the excessive amount of an erroneous claim for 

an income tax refund or credit. If that excessive 

amount results from a transaction found to be lacking economic substance, it will NOT be treated as due to reasonable cause.

Undisclosed foreign financial asset understatement. For tax years beginning after March 18, 2010, you 

may be liable for a 40% penalty for an understatement of 

your tax liability due to an undisclosed foreign financial asset. An undisclosed foreign financial asset is any asset for 

which an information return, required to be provided under 

sections 6038, 6038B, 6038D, 6046A, or 6048 for any tax 

year, is not provided. The penalty applies to any part of an 

underpayment related to the following undisclosed foreign 

financial assets.

• Any foreign business you control, reportable on Form 

5471, Information Return of U.S. Persons With Respect To Certain Foreign Corporations, or Form 8865, 

Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Partnerships.

CAUTION

!

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 2 Tax Shelters and Other Reportable 

Transactions

43
• Certain transfers of property to a foreign corporation or 

partnership, reportable on Form 926, Return by a U.S. 

Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation, or certain distributions to a foreign person, reportable on 

Form 8865.

• Your ownership interest in an otherwise undisclosed 

foreign financial asset, reportable on Form 8275 or 

8275-R. See the Instructions for Form 8275 or Form 

8275-R.

Instead of, or in addition to, Form 8275 or 8275-R, 

you may have to file Form 8938, Statement of 

Specified Foreign Financial Assets, with your tax 

return. See the Instructions for Form 8938 for details.

• Your acquisition, disposition, or substantial change in 

ownership interest in a foreign partnership, reportable 

on Form 8865.

• Creation or transfer of money or property to certain 

foreign trusts, reportable on Form 3520, Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and 

Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts.

Penalty for incorrect appraisals. The person who prepares an appraisal of the value of property may have to 

pay a penalty if:

• He or she knows, or reasonably should have known, 

that the appraisal would be used in connection with a 

return or claim for refund; and

• The claimed value of the property on a return or claim 

for refund based on that appraisal results in a substantial valuation misstatement or a gross valuation misstatement. See Substantial valuation misstatement, 

earlier.

For details on the penalty amount and exceptions, see 

Pub. 561.

Penalty for failure to disclose a reportable transaction. If you fail to include any required information regarding a reportable transaction on a return or statement, you 

may have to pay a penalty of 75% of the decrease in tax 

shown on your return as a result of such transaction (or 

that would have resulted if the transaction were respected 

for federal tax purposes). See Reportable transaction, earlier. For an individual, the minimum penalty is $5,000 and 

the maximum is $10,000 (or $100,000 for a listed transaction). This penalty is in addition to any other penalty that 

may be imposed.

The IRS may rescind or abate the penalty for failing to 

disclose a reportable transaction under certain limited circumstances but cannot rescind the penalty for failing to 

disclose a listed transaction. See Revenue Procedure 

2007-21, as updated by Treasury Decision 9686 and Announcement 2016-1, for information on rescission.

Accuracy-related penalty for a reportable transaction 

understatement. If you have a reportable transaction understatement, you may have to pay a penalty equal to 

20% of the amount of that understatement. This applies to 

any item due to a listed transaction or other reportable 

transaction with a significant purpose of avoiding or evadCAUTION

!

ing federal income tax. The penalty is 30% rather than 

20% for the part of any reportable transaction understatement if the transaction was not properly disclosed.

This penalty does not apply to the part of an understatement on which the fraud penalty, gross valuation misstatement penalty, or penalty for nondisclosure of noneconomic substance transactions is imposed.

Civil fraud penalty. If any underpayment of tax on your 

return is due to fraud, a penalty of 75% of the underpayment will be added to your tax.

Joint return. The fraud penalty on a joint return applies to a spouse only if some part of the underpayment is 

due to the fraud of that spouse.

Failure to pay tax. If a deficiency is assessed and is not 

paid within 10 days of the demand for payment, you may 

be penalized with up to a 25% addition to tax if the failure 

to pay continues.

Whether To Invest

Take into account the risks, benefits, and the source of every financial transaction before investing. You may wish to 

consider professional legal and financial advice for help in 

evaluating the transaction.

3.

Investment Expenses

Terms you may need to know 

(see Glossary):

At-risk rules

Passive activity

Portfolio income

Topics

This chapter discusses:

• Limits on Deductions,

• Interest Expenses,

• Bond Premium Amortization,

• Nondeductible Interest Expenses,

• How To Report Investment Interest Expenses, and

• When To Report Investment Expenses.

44 Chapter 3 Investment Expenses Publication 550 (2023)
Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publication

Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules

Form (and Instructions)

Itemized Deductions

Investment Interest Expense Deduction

Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned 

Income

Parents’ Election To Report Child's Interest and 

Dividends

See chapter 5, How To Get Tax Help, for information about 

getting these publications and forms.

Limits on Deductions

Your deductions for investment expenses may be limited 

by:

• The at-risk rules,

• The passive activity loss limits, or

• The limit on investment expenses.

The at-risk rules and passive activity rules are explained briefly in this section. The limit on investment interest is explained later in this chapter under Interest Expenses.

At-risk rules. Special at-risk rules apply to most income-producing activities. These rules limit the amount of 

loss you can deduct to the amount you risk losing in the 

activity. Generally, this is the cash and the adjusted basis 

of property you contribute to the activity. It also includes 

money you borrow for use in the activity if you are personally liable for repayment or if you use property not used in 

the activity as security for the loan. For more information, 

see Pub. 925.

Passive activity losses and credits. The amount of losses and tax credits you can claim from passive activities is 

limited. Generally, you are allowed to deduct passive activity losses only up to the amount of your passive activity 

income. Also, you can use credits from passive activities 

only against tax on the income from passive activities. 

There are exceptions for certain activities, such as rental 

real estate activities.

Passive activity. A passive activity is generally any 

activity involving the conduct of any trade or business in 

which you do not materially participate and any rental activity. However, if you are involved in renting real estate, 

the activity is not a passive activity if both of the following 

are true.

• More than one-half of the personal services you perform during the year in all trades or businesses are 

performed in real property trades or businesses in 

which you materially participate.

 925

 Schedule A (Form 1040) 

 4952

 8615

 8814

• You perform more than 750 hours of services during 

the year in real property trades or businesses in which 

you materially participate.

The term “trade or business” generally means any activity 

that involves the conduct of a trade or business, is conducted in anticipation of starting a trade or business, or involves certain research or experimental expenditures. 

However, it does not include rental activities or certain activities treated as incidental to holding property for investment.

You are considered to materially participate in an activity if you are involved on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis in the operations of the activity.

Other income (nonpassive income). Generally, you 

can use losses from passive activities only to offset income from passive activities. You cannot use passive activity losses to offset your other income, such as your wages or your portfolio income. Portfolio income includes 

gross income from interest, dividends, annuities, or royalties that is not derived in the ordinary course of a trade or 

business. It also includes gains or losses (not derived in 

the ordinary course of a trade or business) from the sale 

or trade of property (other than an interest in a passive activity) producing portfolio income or held for investment. 

This includes capital gain distributions from mutual funds 

(and other regulated investment companies (RICs)) and 

real estate investment trusts (REITs).

You cannot use passive activity losses to offset Alaska 

Permanent Fund dividends.

Expenses. Do not include in the computation of your 

passive activity income or loss:

• Expenses (other than interest) that are clearly and directly allocable to your portfolio income, or

• Interest expense properly allocable to portfolio income.

However, this interest and other expenses may be subject 

to other limits. These limits are explained in the rest of this 

chapter.

Additional information. For more information about 

determining and reporting income and losses from passive activities, see Pub. 925.

Interest Expenses

This section discusses interest expenses you may be able 

to deduct as an investor.

For information on business interest, see chapter 8 of 

Pub. 334, Tax Guide for Small Business.

You generally cannot deduct personal interest. However, you can deduct qualified home mortgage interest, as 

explained in Pub. 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction, and interest on certain student loans, as explained in 

Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 3 Investment Expenses 45
Investment Interest

If you borrow money to buy property you hold for investment, the interest you pay is investment interest. You can 

deduct investment interest subject to the limit discussed 

later. However, you cannot deduct interest you incurred to 

produce tax-exempt income. See Tax-exempt income, 

later. You also cannot deduct interest expenses on straddles discussed under Interest expense and carrying 

charges on straddles, later.

Investment interest does not include any qualified 

home mortgage interest or any interest taken into account 

in computing income or loss from a passive activity.

Investment property. Property held for investment includes property that produces interest, dividends, annuities, or royalties not derived in the ordinary course of a 

trade or business. It also includes property that produces 

gain or loss (not derived in the ordinary course of a trade 

or business) from the sale or trade of property producing 

these types of income or held for investment (other than 

an interest in a passive activity). Investment property also 

includes an interest in a trade or business activity in which 

you did not materially participate (other than a passive activity).

Partners, shareholders, and beneficiaries. To determine your investment interest, combine your share of 

investment interest from a partnership, S corporation, estate, or trust with your other investment interest.

Allocation of Interest Expense

If you borrow money for business, personal purposes, or 

investment, you must allocate the debt among those purposes. Only the interest expense on the part of the debt 

used for investment purposes is treated as investment expense. The allocation is not affected by the use of property that secures the debt.

Example 1. You borrow $10,000 and use $8,000 to 

buy stock. You use the other $2,000 to buy items for your 

home. Because 80% of the debt is used for, and allocated 

to, investment purposes, 80% of the interest on that debt 

is investment interest. The other 20% is nondeductible 

personal interest.

Debt proceeds received in cash. If you receive debt 

proceeds in cash, the proceeds are generally not treated 

as investment property.

Debt proceeds deposited in account. If you deposit 

debt proceeds in an account, that deposit is treated as investment property, regardless of whether the account 

bears interest. But, if you withdraw the funds and use 

them for another purpose, you must reallocate the debt to 

determine the amount considered to be for investment 

purposes.

Example 2. Assume in Example 1 that you borrowed 

the money on March 1 and immediately bought the stock 

for $8,000. You did not buy the household items until June 

1. You had deposited the $2,000 in the bank. You had no 

other transactions on the bank account until June. You did 

not sell the stock, and you made no principal payments on 

the debt. You paid interest from another account. The 

$8,000 is treated as being used for an investment purpose. The $2,000 is treated as being used for an investment purpose for the 3-month period. Your total interest 

expense for 3 months on this debt is investment interest. 

In June, when you spend the $2,000 for household items, 

you must begin to allocate 80% of the debt and the interest expense to investment purposes and 20% to personal 

purposes.

Amounts paid within 30 days. If you receive loan 

proceeds in cash or if the loan proceeds are deposited in 

an account, you can treat any payment (up to the amount 

of the proceeds) made from any account you own, or from 

cash, as made from those proceeds. This applies to any 

payment made within 30 days before or after the proceeds 

are received in cash or deposited in your account.

If you received the loan proceeds in cash, you can treat 

the payment as made on the date you received the cash 

instead of the date you actually made the payment.

Payments on debt may require new allocation. As 

you repay a debt used for more than one purpose, you 

must reallocate the balance. You must first reduce the 

amount allocated to personal purposes by the repayment. 

You then reallocate the rest of the debt to find what part is 

for investment purposes.

Example 3. If, in Example 2, you repay $500 on November 1, the entire repayment is applied against the 

amount allocated to personal purposes. The debt balance 

is now allocated as $8,000 for investment purposes and 

$1,500 for personal purposes. Until the next reallocation is 

necessary, 84% ($8,000 ÷ $9,500) of the debt and the interest expense is allocated to investment.

Pass-through entities. If you use borrowed funds to buy 

an interest in a partnership or S corporation, then the interest on those funds must be allocated based on the assets of the entity. If you contribute to the capital of the entity, you can make the allocation using any reasonable 

method.

Additional allocation rules. For more information about 

allocating interest expense, see chapter 8 of Pub. 334.

When To Deduct Investment Interest

If you use the cash method of accounting, you must pay 

the interest expense before you can deduct it. 

If you use an accrual method of accounting, you can 

deduct interest over the period it accrues, regardless of 

when you pay it. For an exception, see Unpaid expenses 

owed to related party, later in this chapter.

Example. You borrowed $1,000 on August 18, 2023, 

payable in 90 days at 4% interest. On November 17, 2023, 

you paid this with a new note for $1,010, due on February 

16, 2024. If you use the cash method of accounting, you 

46 Chapter 3 Investment Expenses Publication 550 (2023)
cannot deduct any part of the $10 interest on your return 

for 2023 because you did not actually pay it in that year. If 

you use an accrual method, you may be able to deduct a 

portion of the interest on the loans through December 31, 

2023, on your return for 2023.

Interest paid in advance. Generally, if you pay interest 

in advance for a period that goes beyond the end of the 

tax year, you must spread the interest over the tax years to 

which it belongs under the OID rules discussed in chapter 1. You can deduct in each year only the interest for that 

year.

Interest on margin accounts. If you are a cash method 

taxpayer, you can deduct interest on margin accounts to 

buy taxable securities as investment interest in the year 

you paid it. You are considered to have paid interest on 

these accounts only when you actually pay the broker or 

when payment becomes available to the broker through 

your account. Payment may become available to the 

broker through your account when the broker collects dividends or interest for your account, or sells securities held 

for you or received from you.

Limit on interest deduction for market discount 

bonds. The amount you can deduct for interest expense 

you paid or accrued during the year to buy or carry a market discount bond may be limited. This limit does not apply 

if you accrue the market discount and include it in your income currently.

Under this limit, the interest is deductible only to the extent it is more than:

1. The total interest and OID includible in gross income 

for the bond for the year, plus

2. The market discount for the number of days you held 

the bond during the year.

Figure the amount in (2) above using the rules for figuring 

accrued market discount in chapter 1 under Market Discount Bonds.

Interest not deducted due to limit. In the year you 

dispose of the bond, you can deduct any interest expense 

you were not allowed to deduct in earlier years because of 

the limit.

Choosing to deduct disallowed interest expense 

before the year of disposition. You can choose to deduct disallowed interest expense in any year before the 

year you dispose of the bond, up to your net interest income from the bond during the year. The rest of the disallowed interest expense remains deductible in the year you 

dispose of the bond.

Net interest income. This is the interest income (including OID) from the bond that you include in income for 

the year, minus the interest expense paid or accrued during the year to purchase or carry the bond.

Limit on interest deduction for short-term obligations. If the current income inclusion rules discussed in 

chapter 1 under Discount on Short-Term Obligations do 

not apply to you, the amount you can deduct for interest 

expense you paid or accrued during the year to buy or 

carry a short-term obligation is limited.

The interest is deductible only to the extent it is more 

than:

• The amount of acquisition discount or OID on the obligation for the tax year, plus

• The amount of any interest payable on the obligation 

for the year that is not included in income because of 

your accounting method (other than interest taken into 

account in determining the amount of acquisition discount or OID).

The method of determining acquisition discount and OID 

for short-term obligations is discussed in chapter 1 under 

Discount on Short-Term Obligations.

Interest not deducted due to limit. In the year you 

dispose of the obligation, or, if you choose, in another year 

in which you have net interest income from the obligation, 

you can deduct any interest expense you were not allowed 

to deduct for an earlier year because of the limit. Follow 

the same rules provided in the earlier discussion under 

Limit on interest deduction for market discount bonds.

Limit on Deduction

Generally, your deduction for investment interest expense 

is limited to your net investment income.

You can carry over the amount of investment interest 

you could not deduct because of this limit to the next tax 

year. The interest carried over is treated as investment interest paid or accrued in that next year.

You can carry over disallowed investment interest to the 

next tax year even if it is more than your taxable income in 

the year the interest was paid or accrued.

Net Investment Income

Determine the amount of your net investment income by 

subtracting your investment expenses (other than interest 

expense) from your investment income.

Investment income. Generally, investment income includes your gross income from property held for investment such as interest, dividends, annuities, and royalties. 

Investment income does not include Alaska Permanent 

Fund dividends. It also does not include qualified dividends or net capital gain unless you choose to include 

them.

Choosing to include qualified dividends. Investment income generally does not include qualified dividends, discussed in chapter 1. However, you can choose 

to include all or part of your qualified dividends in investment income.

You make this choice by completing Form 4952, 

line 4g, according to its instructions.

If you choose to include any of your qualified dividends 

in investment income, you must reduce your qualified dividends that are eligible for the lower capital gains tax rates 

by the same amount.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 3 Investment Expenses 47
Choosing to include net capital gain. Investment income generally does not include net capital gain from disposing of investment property (including capital gain distributions from mutual funds). However, you can choose to 

include all or part of your net capital gain in investment income.

You make this choice by completing Form 4952, 

line 4g, according to its instructions.

If you choose to include any of your net capital gain in 

investment income, you must reduce your net capital gain 

that is eligible for the lower capital gains tax rates by the 

same amount.

For more information about the capital gains rates, see 

Capital Gain Tax Rates in chapter 4.

Before making either choice, consider the overall 

effect on your tax liability. Compare your tax if you 

make one or both of these choices with your tax if 

you do not.

Investment income of child reported on parent's return. Investment income includes the part of your child's 

interest and dividend income you choose to report on your 

return. If the child does not have qualified dividends, 

Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, or capital gain distributions, this is the amount on line 6 of Form 8814. Include it 

on line 4a of Form 4952.

Example. Your 8-year-old child has interest income of 

$2,600, which you choose to report on your own return. 

You enter $2,600 on Form 8814, lines 1a and 4, and $100 

on lines 6 and 12, and complete Part II. You also enter 

$100 on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z. Your investment 

income includes this $100.

Child's qualified dividends. If part of the amount you 

report is your child's qualified dividends, that part (which is 

reported on Form 1040, line 3a) generally does not count 

as investment income. However, you can choose to include all or part of it in investment income, as explained 

under Choosing to include qualified dividends, earlier.

Your investment income also includes the amount on 

Form 8814, line 12 (or, if applicable, the reduced amount 

figured next under Child's Alaska Permanent Fund dividends).

Child's Alaska Permanent Fund dividends. If part of 

the amount you report is your child's Alaska Permanent 

Fund dividends, that part does not count as investment income. To figure the amount of your child's income that you 

can consider your investment income, start with the 

amount on Form 8814, line 6. Multiply that amount by a 

percentage that is equal to the Alaska Permanent Fund 

dividends divided by the total amount on Form 8814, 

line 4. Subtract the result from the amount on Form 8814, 

line 12.

Example. Your 10-year-old child has taxable interest 

income of $4,000 and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends 

of $2,000. You choose to report this on your return. You 

enter $4,000 on Form 8814, line 1a; $2,000 on line 2a; 

and $6,000 on line 4. You then enter $3,500 on Form 

8814, lines 6 and 12; and Schedule 1 (Form 1040), 

TIP

line 8z. You figure the amount of your child's income that 

you can consider your investment income as follows.

$3,500 − ($3,500 × ($2,000 ÷ $6,000)) = $2,333

You include the result, $2,333, on Form 4952, line 4a.

Child's capital gain distributions. If part of the 

amount you report is your child's capital gain distributions, 

that part (which is reported on Schedule D (Form 1040), 

line 13; or Form 1040, line 7) generally does not count as 

investment income. However, you can choose to include 

all or part of it in investment income, as explained under 

Choosing to include net capital gain, earlier.

Your investment income also includes the amount on 

Form 8814, line 12 (or, if applicable, the reduced amount 

figured under Child's Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, 

earlier).

Investment expenses. Investment expenses are your allowed deductions (other than interest expense) directly 

connected with the production of investment income.

Losses from passive activities. Income or expenses 

that you used in computing income or loss from a passive 

activity are not included in determining your investment income or investment expenses (including investment interest expense). See Pub. 925 for information about passive 

activities.

Example. Ted is a partner in a partnership that operates a business. However, he does not materially participate in the partnership's business. Ted's interest in the 

partnership is considered a passive activity.

Ted's investment income from interest and dividends 

(other than qualified dividends) is $10,000. His investment 

expenses (other than interest) are $3,200. His investment 

interest expense is $8,000. Ted also has income from the 

partnership of $2,000.

Ted figures his net investment income and the limit on 

his investment interest expense deduction in the following 

way.

Total investment income .................... $10,000

Minus: Investment expenses (other than interest) .... 3,200

Net investment income ..................... $6,800

Deductible investment interest expense for the year ... $6,800

The $2,000 of income from the passive activity is not 

used in determining Ted's net investment income. His investment interest deduction for the year is limited to 

$6,800, the amount of his net investment income.

Form 4952

Use Form 4952 to figure your deduction for investment interest. See Form 4952 for more information.

48 Chapter 3 Investment Expenses Publication 550 (2023)
Exception to use of Form 4952. You do not have to 

complete Form 4952 or attach it to your return if you meet 

all of the following tests.

• Your investment income from interest and ordinary dividends minus any qualified dividends is more than 

your investment interest expense.

• You do not have any other deductible investment expenses.

• You have no carryover of investment interest expense 

from 2022.

If you meet all of these tests, you can deduct all of your 

investment interest.

Bond Premium Amortization

If you pay a premium to buy a bond, the premium is part of 

your basis in the bond. If the bond yields taxable interest, 

you can choose to amortize the premium. This generally 

means that each year, over the life of the bond, you use a 

part of the premium to reduce the amount of interest includible in your income. If you make this choice, you must 

reduce your basis in the bond by the amortization for the 

year.

If the bond yields tax-exempt interest, you must amortize the premium. This amortized amount is not deductible 

in determining taxable income. However, each year, you 

must reduce your basis in the bond (and tax-exempt interest otherwise reportable on your tax return) by the amortization for the year.

If you acquire a security, such as a bond, at a premium, 

you may receive a Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID. See 

the instructions on those forms to determine if the 

amounts of interest reported to you have been reduced by 

amortizable bond premium for the period.

Bond premium. Bond premium is the amount by which 

your basis in the bond right after you get it is more than the 

total of all amounts payable on the bond after you get it 

(other than payments of qualified stated interest). For example, a bond with a maturity value of $1,000 generally 

would have a $50 premium if you buy it for $1,050.

Special rules to determine amounts payable on a 

bond. For special rules that apply to determine the 

amounts payable on a variable rate bond, an inflation-indexed debt instrument, a bond that provides for certain alternative payment schedules (for example, a bond callable 

prior to the stated maturity date of the bond), or a bond 

that provides for remote or incidental contingencies, see 

Regulations section 1.171-3.

Basis. In general, your basis for figuring bond premium 

amortization is the same as your basis for figuring any loss 

on the sale of the bond. However, you may need to use a 

different basis for:

• Convertible bonds,

• Bonds you got in a trade, and

• Bonds whose basis has to be determined using the 

basis of the person who transferred the bond to you.

See Regulations section 1.171-1(e).

Dealers. A dealer in taxable bonds (or anyone who holds 

them mainly for sale to customers in the ordinary course 

of a trade or business, or who would properly include 

bonds in inventory at the close of the tax year) cannot 

claim a deduction for amortizable bond premium.

See section 75 of the Internal Revenue Code for the 

treatment of bond premium by a dealer in tax-exempt 

bonds.

How To Figure Amortization

For bonds issued after September 27, 1985, you must amortize bond premium using a constant yield method on the 

basis of the bond's yield to maturity, determined by using 

the bond's basis and compounding at the close of each 

accrual period.

Constant yield method. Figure the bond premium amortization for each accrual period as follows.

Step 1: Determine your yield. Your yield is the discount rate that, when used in figuring the present value of 

all remaining payments to be made on the bond (including 

payments of qualified stated interest), produces an 

amount equal to your basis in the bond. Figure the yield as 

of the date you got the bond. It must be constant over the 

term of the bond and must be figured to at least two decimal places when expressed as a percentage.

If you do not know the yield, consult your broker or tax 

advisor. Databases available to them are likely to show the 

yield at the date of purchase.

Step 2: Determine the accrual periods. You can 

choose the accrual periods to use. They may be of any 

length and may vary in length over the term of the bond, 

but each accrual period can be no longer than 1 year, and 

each scheduled payment of principal or interest must occur either on the first or the final day of an accrual period. 

The computation is simplest if accrual periods are the 

same as the intervals between interest payment dates.

Step 3: Determine the bond premium for the accrual period. To do this, multiply your adjusted acquisition price at the beginning of the accrual period by your 

yield. Then, subtract the result from the qualified stated interest for the period.

Your adjusted acquisition price at the beginning of the 

first accrual period is the same as your basis. After that, it 

is your basis decreased by the amount of bond premium 

amortized for earlier periods, and the amount of any payment previously made on the bond other than a payment 

of qualified stated interest.

Example. On February 1, 2022, you bought a taxable 

bond for $110,000. The bond has a stated principal 

amount of $100,000, payable at maturity on February 1, 

2029, making your premium $10,000 ($110,000 − 

$100,000). The bond pays qualified stated interest of 

$10,000 on February 1 of each year. Your yield is 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 3 Investment Expenses 49
8.07439% compounded annually. You choose to use annual accrual periods ending on February 1 of each year. 

To find your bond premium amortization for the accrual period ending on February 1, 2023, you multiply the adjusted 

acquisition price at the beginning of the period ($110,000) 

by your yield. When you subtract the result ($8,881.83) 

from the qualified stated interest for the period ($10,000), 

you find that your bond premium amortization for the period is $1,118.17.

Special rules to figure amortization. For special 

rules to figure the bond premium amortization on a variable rate bond, an inflation-indexed debt instrument, a 

bond that provides for certain alternative payment schedules (for example, a bond callable prior to the stated maturity date of the bond), or a bond that provides for remote 

or incidental contingencies, see Regulations section 

1.171-3.

Choosing To Amortize

You choose to amortize the premium on taxable bonds by 

reporting the amortization for the year on your income tax 

return for the first tax year you want the choice to apply. 

You should attach a statement to your return that you are 

making this choice under section 171. See How To Report 

Amortization next.

This choice is binding for the year you make it and for 

later tax years. It applies to all taxable bonds you own in 

the year you make the choice and also to those you acquire in later years.

You can change your decision to amortize bond premium only with the written approval of the IRS. To request 

approval, use Form 3115. For more information on requesting approval, see section 5 of Revenue Procedure 

2023-24 in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-26. You can 

find Revenue Procedure 2023-24 at IRS.gov/irb/

2023-28_IRB#REV-PROC-2023-24.

How To Report Amortization

(Taxable Bonds)

Subtract the bond premium amortization from your interest 

income from these bonds.

Report the bond's interest on Schedule B (Form 1040), 

line 1. Under your last entry on line 1, put a subtotal of all 

interest listed on line 1. Below this subtotal, enter the amortizable bond premium allocable to the interest payments 

for the year and label this amount “ABP Adjustment.” Subtract this amount from the subtotal, and enter the result on 

line 2.

Bond premium amortization more than interest. If the 

amount of your bond premium amortization for an accrual 

period is more than the qualified stated interest for the period, you can include the difference in Other Itemized Deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 16.

But your deduction is limited to the amount by which 

your total interest inclusions on the bond in prior accrual 

periods is more than your total bond premium deductions 

on the bond in prior periods. Any amount you cannot deduct because of this limit can be carried forward to the 

next accrual period.

Pre-1998 election to amortize bond premium. Generally, if you first elected to amortize bond premium before 

1998, the above treatment of the premium does not apply 

to bonds you acquired before 1988.

Bonds acquired before October 23, 1986. The amortization of the premium on these bonds is a miscellaneous 

itemized deduction not subject to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit.

Bonds acquired after October 22, 1986, but before 

1988. The amortization of the premium on these bonds is 

investment interest expense subject to the investment interest limit, unless you choose to treat it as an offset to interest income on the bond.

Nondeductible Interest 

Expenses

Some interest expenses that you incur as an investor are 

not deductible.

Single-premium life insurance, endowment, and annuity contracts. You cannot deduct interest on money 

you borrow to buy or carry a single-premium life insurance, endowment, or annuity contract.

Used as collateral. If you use a single-premium annuity contract as collateral to obtain or continue a mortgage 

loan, you cannot deduct any interest on the loan that is 

collateralized by the annuity contract. Figure the amount 

of interest expense disallowed by multiplying the current 

interest rate on the mortgage loan by the lesser of the 

amount of the annuity contract used as collateral or the 

amount of the loan.

Borrowing on insurance. Generally, you cannot deduct 

interest on money you borrow to buy or carry a life insurance, endowment, or annuity contract if you plan to systematically borrow part or all of the increases in the cash 

value of the contract. This rule applies to the interest on 

the total amount borrowed to buy or carry the contract, not 

just the interest on the borrowed increases in the cash 

value.

Tax-exempt income. You cannot deduct interest expenses you incur to produce tax-exempt income, such as interest on money you borrow to buy tax-exempt securities 

or shares in a mutual fund or other regulated investment 

company that distributes only exempt-interest dividends.

Short-sale expenses. The rule disallowing a deduction for interest expenses on debt proceeds used to purchase tax-exempt securities applies to amounts you pay in 

connection with personal property used in a short sale or 

amounts paid by others for the use of any collateral in connection with the short sale. However, it does not apply to 

50 Chapter 3 Investment Expenses Publication 550 (2023)
the expenses you incur if you deposit cash as collateral for 

the property used in the short sale and the cash does not 

earn a material return during the period of the sale. Short 

sales are discussed under Short Sales in chapter 4.

Expenses for both tax-exempt and taxable income. 

You may have expenses that are for both tax-exempt and 

taxable income. If you cannot specifically identify what 

part of the expenses is for each type of income, you can 

divide the expenses, using reasonable proportions based 

on facts and circumstances. You must attach a statement 

to your return showing how you divided the expenses and 

stating that each deduction claimed is not based on 

tax-exempt income.

One accepted method for dividing expenses is to do it 

in the same proportion that each type of income is to the 

total income. If the expenses relate in part to capital gains 

and losses, include the gains, but not the losses, in figuring this proportion. To find the part of the expenses that is 

for the tax-exempt income, divide your tax-exempt income 

by the total income and multiply your expenses by the result.

Example. You received $6,000 in interest income; 

$4,800 was tax exempt and $1,200 was taxable. In earning this income, you had $500 of expenses. You cannot 

specifically identify the amount of each expense item that 

is for each income item, so you must divide your expenses. 80% ($4,800 tax-exempt interest divided by $6,000 

total interest) of your expenses is for the tax-exempt income. You cannot deduct $400 (80% of $500) of the expenses. You can deduct $100 (the rest of the expenses) 

because they are for the taxable interest.

State income taxes. If you itemize your deductions, 

you can deduct, as taxes, state income taxes on interest 

income that is exempt from federal income tax. But you 

cannot deduct, as either taxes or investment expenses, 

state income taxes on other exempt income.

Interest expense and carrying charges on straddles. 

You cannot deduct interest and carrying charges allocable 

to personal property that is part of a straddle. The nondeductible interest and carrying charges are added to the 

basis of the straddle property. However, this treatment 

does not apply if:

• All the offsetting positions making up the straddle either consist of one or more qualified covered call options and the optioned stock, or consist of section 

1256 contracts (and the straddle is not part of a larger 

straddle); or

• The straddle is a hedging transaction.

For information about straddles, including definitions of 

the terms used in this discussion, see Straddles in chapter 4.

Interest includes any amount you pay or incur in connection with personal property used in a short sale. However, you must first apply the rules discussed under Payments in lieu of dividends in chapter 4.

To determine the interest on market discount bonds 

and short-term obligations that are part of a straddle, you 

must first apply the rules discussed under Limit on interest 

deduction for market discount bonds and Limit on interest 

deduction for short-term obligations, earlier.

Nondeductible amount. Figure the nondeductible interest and carrying charges on straddle property as follows.

1. Add:

a. Interest on indebtedness incurred or continued to 

buy or carry the personal property, and

b. All other amounts (including charges to insure, 

store, or transport the personal property) paid or 

incurred to carry the personal property.

2. Subtract from the amount in (1):

a. Interest (including OID) includible in gross income 

for the year on the personal property,

b. Any income from the personal property treated as 

ordinary income on the disposition of short-term 

government obligations or as ordinary income under the market discount and short-term bond provisions—see Discount on Debt Instruments in 

chapter 1,

c. The dividends includible in gross income for the 

year from the personal property, and

d. Any payment on a loan of the personal property for 

use in a short sale that is includible in gross income.

Basis adjustment. Add the nondeductible amount to 

the basis of your straddle property.

How To Report

Investment Interest Expenses

To deduct your investment interest expenses, you must 

itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040). Enter 

your deductible investment interest expense on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 9. Include any deductible short 

sale expenses. (See Short Sales in chapter 4 for information on these expenses.) Also attach a completed Form 

4952 if you used that form to figure your investment interest expense.

Investment expenses from nonpublicly offered mutual fund or real estate mortgage investment conduit 

(REMIC). If you hold an interest in a nonpublicly offered 

mutual fund, your investment expenses will be shown in 

box 6 of Form 1099-DIV. Publicly offered mutual funds are 

discussed later.

If you hold an interest in a REMIC, any expenses relating to your residual interest investment will be shown on 

Schedule Q (Form 1066), line 3b. Any expenses relating 

to your regular interest investment will appear in box 5 of 

Form 1099-INT or box 9 of Form 1099-OID.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 3 Investment Expenses 51
Including mutual fund or REMIC expenses in income. Your share of the investment expenses of a REMIC or a nonpublicly offered mutual fund, as described 

above, is considered to be an indirect deduction through 

that pass-through entity. You must include in your gross income an amount equal to the expenses allocated to you, 

whether or not you are able to claim a deduction for those 

expenses. If you are a shareholder in a nonpublicly offered 

mutual fund, you must include on your return the full 

amount of ordinary dividends or other distributions of 

stock, as shown in box 1a of Form 1099-DIV. If you are a 

residual interest holder in a REMIC, you must report as ordinary income on Schedule E (Form 1040) the total 

amounts shown on Schedule Q (Form 1066), lines 1b and 

3b. If you are a REMIC regular interest holder, you must include the amount of any expense allocation you received 

on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 2b.

Publicly offered mutual funds. Most mutual funds are 

publicly offered. These mutual funds, generally, are traded 

on an established securities exchange. These funds do 

not pass investment expenses through to you. Instead, the 

dividend income they report to you in box 1a of Form 

1099-DIV is already reduced by your share of investment 

expenses. As a result, you cannot deduct the expenses on 

your return.

Include the amount from box 1a of Form 1099-DIV in 

your income.

A publicly offered mutual fund is one that:

1. Is continuously offered pursuant to a public offering,

2. Is regularly traded on an established securities market, and

3. Is held by or for no fewer than 500 persons at any time 

during the year.

Contact your mutual fund if you are not sure whether it is 

publicly offered.

For information on how to report amortizable bond premium, see Bond Premium Amortization, earlier in this 

chapter.

When To Report Investment 

Expenses

If you use the cash method to report income and expenses, you generally deduct your expenses, except for certain prepaid interest, in the year you pay them.

If you use an accrual method, you generally deduct 

your expenses when you incur a liability for them, rather 

than when you pay them.

See also When To Deduct Investment Interest, earlier in 

this chapter.

Unpaid expenses owed to related party. If you use an 

accrual method, you cannot deduct interest and other exTIP

penses owed to a related cash-basis person until payment 

is made and the amount is includible in the gross income 

of that person. The relationship, for purposes of this rule, 

is determined as of the end of the tax year for which the 

interest or expense would otherwise be deductible. If a deduction is denied under this rule, this rule will continue to 

apply even if your relationship with the person ceases to 

exist before the amount is includible in the gross income 

of that person.

This rule generally applies to those relationships listed 

in chapter 4 under Related Party Transactions. It also applies to accruals by partnerships to partners, partners to 

partnerships, shareholders to S corporations, and S corporations to shareholders.

The postponement of deductions for unpaid expenses 

and interest under the related party rule does not apply to 

OID, regardless of when payment is made. This rule also 

does not apply to loans with below-market interest rates or 

to certain payments for the use of property and services 

when the lender or recipient has to include payments periodically in income, even if a payment has not been made.

4.

Sales and Trades of 

Investment Property

Introduction

This chapter explains the tax treatment of sales and 

trades of investment property.

Investment property. This is property that produces investment income. Examples include stocks, bonds, and 

Treasury bills and notes. Property used in a trade or business is not investment property.

Form 1099-B. If you sold property such as stocks, bonds, 

mutual funds, or certain commodities through a broker 

during the year, the broker should send you, for each sale, 

a Form 1099-B, Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions. You should receive the Form 1099-B 

for 2023 by February 15, 2024. It will show the gross proceeds from the sale. The IRS will also get a copy of Form 

1099-B from the broker.

Use the Form 1099-B received from your broker to 

complete Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of 

Capital Assets. If you sold a covered security in 2023, your 

broker will send you a Form 1099-B that shows your basis. 

This will help you complete Form 8949. Generally, a covered security is a security you acquired after 2010, with 

certain exceptions explained in the Instructions for Form 

8949.

52 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
For more information on Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040), see Reporting Capital Gains 

and Losses in this chapter. Also see the Instructions for Form 8949 and the Instructions for Schedule D 

(Form 1040).

Nominees. If someone receives gross proceeds as a 

nominee for you, that person will give you a Form 1099-B, 

which will show gross proceeds received on your behalf.

If you receive a Form 1099-B that includes gross proceeds belonging to another person, see Nominees, later, 

under Reporting Capital Gains and Losses for more information.

Other property transactions. Certain transfers of property are discussed in other IRS publications. These include:

• Sale of your main home, discussed in Pub. 523, Selling Your Home;

• Installment sales, covered in Pub. 537;

• Various types of transactions involving business property, discussed in Pub. 544, Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets;

• Transfers of property at death, covered in Pub. 559; 

and

• Disposition of an interest in a passive activity, discussed in Pub. 925.

Topics

This chapter discusses:

• What Is a Sale or Trade,

• Basis of Investment Property,

• Adjusted Basis,

• How To Figure Gain or Loss,

• Nontaxable Trades,

• Transfers Between Spouses,

• Related Party Transactions,

• Capital Gains and Losses,

• Reporting Capital Gains and Losses, and

• Special Rules for Traders in Securities or 

Commodities.

Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publication

1 Basis of Assets

Form (and Instructions)

Schedule D (Form 1040) Capital Gains and Losses

6781 Gains and Losses From Section 1256 

Contracts and Straddles

TIP

 551

 Schedule D (Form 1040) 

 6781 

Passive Activity Loss Limitations

Like-Kind Exchanges

Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets

See chapter 5, How To Get Tax Help, for information about 

getting these publications and forms.

What Is a

Sale or Trade?

Terms you may need to know 

(see Glossary):

Equity option

Futures contract

Marked-to-market rule

Nonequity option

Options dealer

Regulated futures contract

Section 1256 contract

Short sale

This section explains what is a sale or trade. It also explains certain transactions and events that are treated as 

sales or trades.

A sale is generally a transfer of property for money or a 

mortgage, note, or other promise to pay money.

A trade is a transfer of property for other property or 

services, and may be taxed in the same way as a sale.

Sale and purchase. Ordinarily, a transaction is not a 

trade when you voluntarily sell property for cash and immediately buy similar property to replace it. The sale and 

purchase are two separate transactions. But see 

Like-Kind Exchanges under Nontaxable Trades, later.

Redemption of stock. A redemption of stock is treated 

as a sale or trade and is subject to the capital gain or loss 

provisions unless the redemption is a dividend or other 

distribution on stock.

Dividend versus sale or trade. Whether a redemption is treated as a sale, trade, dividend, or other distribution depends on the circumstances in each case. Both direct and indirect ownership of stock will be considered. 

The redemption is treated as a sale or trade of stock if:

• The redemption is not essentially equivalent to a dividend—see Dividends and Other Distributions in chapter 1,

• There is a substantially disproportionate redemption 

of stock,

• There is a complete redemption of all the stock of the 

corporation owned by the shareholder, or

 8582 

 8824 

 8949 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 53
• The redemption is a distribution in partial liquidation of 

a corporation.

Redemption or retirement of bonds. A redemption or 

retirement of bonds or notes at their maturity is generally 

treated as a sale or trade. See Stocks, stock rights, and 

bonds and Discounted Debt Instruments, later.

In addition, a significant modification of a bond is treated as a trade of the original bond for a new bond. For details, see Regulations section 1.1001-3.

Surrender of stock. A surrender of stock by a dominant 

shareholder who retains ownership of more than half of 

the corporation's voting shares is treated as a contribution 

to capital rather than as an immediate loss deductible 

from taxable income. The surrendering shareholder must 

reallocate his or her basis in the surrendered shares to the 

shares he or she retains.

Trade of investment property for an annuity. The 

transfer of investment property to a corporation, trust, 

fund, foundation, or other organization, in exchange for a 

fixed annuity contract that will make guaranteed annual 

payments to you for life, is a taxable trade. If the present 

value of the annuity is more than your basis in the property 

traded, you have a taxable gain in the year of the trade. 

Figure the present value of the annuity according to factors used by commercial insurance companies issuing annuities.

Transfer by inheritance. The transfer of property of a 

decedent to the executor or administrator of the estate, or 

to the heirs or beneficiaries, is not a sale or other disposition. No taxable gain or deductible loss results from the 

transfer.

Termination of certain rights and obligations. The 

cancellation, lapse, expiration, or other termination of a 

right or obligation (other than a securities futures contract) 

with respect to property that is a capital asset (or that 

would be a capital asset if you acquired it) is treated as a 

sale. Any gain or loss is treated as a capital gain or loss.

This rule does not apply to the retirement of a debt instrument. See Redemption or retirement of bonds, earlier.

Worthless Securities

Stocks, stock rights, and bonds (other than those held for 

sale by a securities dealer) that became completely worthless during the tax year are treated as though they were 

sold on the last day of the tax year. This affects whether 

your capital loss is long term or short term. See Holding 

Period, later.

Worthless securities also include securities that you 

abandon after March 12, 2008. To abandon a security, you 

must permanently surrender and relinquish all rights in the 

security and receive no consideration in exchange for it. 

All the facts and circumstances determine whether the 

transaction is properly characterized as an abandonment 

or other type of transaction, such as an actual sale or exchange, contribution to capital, dividend, or gift.

If you are a cash basis taxpayer and make payments on 

a negotiable promissory note that you issued for stock that 

became worthless, you can deduct these payments as 

losses in the years you actually make the payments. Do 

not deduct them in the year the stock became worthless.

How to report loss. Report worthless securities on Form 

8949, Part I or Part II, whichever applies.

Report your worthless securities transactions on 

Form 8949 with the correct box checked for these 

transactions. See Form 8949 and the Instructions 

for Form 8949.

Filing a claim for refund. If you do not claim a loss for a 

worthless security on your original return for the year it becomes worthless, you can file a claim for a credit or refund 

due to the loss. You must use Form 1040-X, Amended 

U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, to amend your return 

for the year the security became worthless. You must file it 

within 7 years from the date your original return for that 

year had to be filed, or 2 years from the date you paid the 

tax, whichever is later. (Claims not due to worthless securities or bad debts must generally be filed within 3 years 

from the date a return is filed, or 2 years from the date the 

tax is paid, whichever is later.) For more information about 

filing a claim, see Publication 556, Examination of Returns, Appeals Rights, and Claims for Refund.

Constructive Sales

of Appreciated

Financial Positions

You are treated as having made a constructive sale when 

you enter into certain transactions involving an appreciated financial position (defined later) in stock, a partnership interest, or certain debt instruments. You must recognize gain as if the position were disposed of at its fair 

market value on the date of the constructive sale. This 

gives you a new holding period for the position that begins 

on the date of the constructive sale. Then, when you close 

the transaction, you reduce your gain (or increase your 

loss) by the gain recognized on the constructive sale.

Constructive sale. You are treated as having made a 

constructive sale of an appreciated financial position if 

you:

• Enter into a short sale of the same or substantially 

identical property,

• Enter into an offsetting notional principal contract relating to the same or substantially identical property,

• Enter into a futures or forward contract to deliver the 

same or substantially identical property (including a 

forward contract that provides for cash settlement), or

• Acquire the same or substantially identical property (if 

the appreciated financial position is a short sale, an 

offsetting notional principal contract, or a futures or 

forward contract).

CAUTION

!

54 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
You are also treated as having made a constructive 

sale of an appreciated financial position if a person related 

to you enters into a transaction described above with a 

view toward avoiding the constructive sale treatment. For 

this purpose, a related person is any related party described under Related Party Transactions, later in this chapter.

Exception for nonmarketable securities. You are 

not treated as having made a constructive sale solely because you entered into a contract for sale of any stock, 

debt instrument, or partnership interest that is not a marketable security if it settles within 1 year of the date you 

enter into it.

Exception for certain closed transactions. Do not 

treat a transaction as a constructive sale if all of the following are true.

1. You closed the transaction on or before the 30th day 

after the end of your tax year.

2. You held the appreciated financial position throughout 

the 60-day period beginning on the date you closed 

the transaction.

3. Your risk of loss was not reduced at any time during 

that 60-day period by holding certain other positions.

If a closed transaction is reestablished in a substantially 

similar position during the 60-day period beginning on the 

date the first transaction was closed, this exception still 

applies if the reestablished position is closed before the 

30th day after the end of your tax year in which the first 

transaction was closed and, after that closing, (2) and (3) 

above are true.

This exception also applies to successive short sales of 

an entire appreciated financial position. For more information, see Revenue Ruling 2003-1 in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2003-3. This bulletin is available at IRS.gov/pub/irsirbs/irb03-03.pdf.

Appreciated financial position. This is any interest in 

stock, a partnership interest, or a debt instrument (including a futures or forward contract, a short sale, or an option) if disposing of the interest would result in a gain.

Exceptions. An appreciated financial position does 

not include the following.

1. Any position from which all of the appreciation is accounted for under marked-to-market rules, including 

section 1256 contracts (described later under Section 

1256 Contracts Marked to Market).

2. Any position in a debt instrument if:

a. The position unconditionally entitles the holder to 

receive a specified principal amount;

b. The interest payments (or other similar amounts) 

with respect to the position are payable at a fixed 

rate or a variable rate described in Regulations 

section 1.860G-1(a)(3); and

c. The position is not convertible, either directly or indirectly, into stock of the issuer (or any related 

person).

3. Any hedge with respect to a position described in (2).

Certain trust instruments treated as stock. For the 

constructive sale rules, an interest in an actively traded 

trust is treated as stock unless substantially all of the value 

of the property held by the trust is debt that qualifies for 

the exception to the definition of an appreciated financial 

position (explained in (2) above).

Sale of appreciated financial position. A transaction 

treated as a constructive sale of an appreciated financial 

position is not treated as a constructive sale of any other 

appreciated financial position, as long as you continue to 

hold the original position. However, if you hold another appreciated financial position and dispose of the original position before closing the transaction that resulted in the 

constructive sale, you are treated as if, at the same time, 

you constructively sold the other appreciated financial position.

Section 1256 Contracts

Marked to Market

If you hold a section 1256 contract at the end of the tax 

year, you must generally treat it as sold at its fair market 

value on the last business day of the tax year.

Section 1256 Contract

A section 1256 contract is any:

• Regulated futures contract,

• Foreign currency contract,

• Nonequity option,

• Dealer equity option, or

• Dealer securities futures contract.

Exceptions. A section 1256 contract does not include:

• Interest rate swaps,

• Currency swaps,

• Basis swaps,

• Interest rate caps,

• Interest rate floors,

• Commodity swaps,

• Equity swaps,

• Equity index swaps,

• Credit default swaps, or

• Similar agreements.

For more details, including definitions of these terms, see 

section 1256.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 55
Regulated futures contract. This is a contract that:

• Provides that amounts which must be deposited to, or 

can be withdrawn from, your margin account depend 

on daily market conditions (a system of marking to 

market); and

• Is traded on, or subject to the rules of, a qualified 

board of exchange. A qualified board of exchange is a 

domestic board of trade designated as a contract market by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 

any board of trade or exchange approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, or a national securities exchange registered with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (SEC).

Foreign currency contract. This is a contract that:

• Requires delivery of a foreign currency that has positions traded through regulated futures contracts (or 

settlement of which depends on the value of that type 

of foreign currency),

• Is traded in the interbank market, and

• Is entered into at arm's length at a price determined by 

reference to the price in the interbank market.

Bank forward contracts with maturity dates longer than 

the maturities ordinarily available for regulated futures 

contracts are considered to meet the definition of a foreign 

currency contract if the above three conditions are satisfied.

Special rules apply to certain foreign currency transactions. These transactions may result in ordinary gain or 

loss treatment. For details, see Internal Revenue Code 

section 988 and Regulations sections 1.988-1(a)(7) and 

1.988-3.

Nonequity option. This is any listed option (defined 

later) that is not an equity option. Nonequity options include debt options, commodity futures options, currency 

options, and broad-based stock index options. A 

broad-based stock index is based on the value of a group 

of diversified stocks or securities (such as the Standard 

and Poor's 500 index).

Warrants based on a stock index that are economically 

substantially identical in all material respects to options 

based on a stock index are treated as options based on a 

stock index.

Cash-settled options. Cash-settled options based on 

a stock index and either traded on or subject to the rules 

of a qualified board of exchange are nonequity options if 

the SEC determines that the stock index is broad based.

This rule does not apply to options established before 

the SEC determines that the stock index is broad based.

Listed option. This is any option traded on, or subject 

to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange (as discussed earlier under Regulated futures contract). A listed 

option, however, does not include an option that is a right 

to acquire stock from the issuer.

Dealer equity option. This is any listed option that, for 

an options dealer:

• Is an equity option,

• Is bought or granted by that dealer in the normal 

course of the dealer's business activity of dealing in 

options, and

• Is listed on the qualified board of exchange where that 

dealer is registered.

An “options dealer” is any person registered with an appropriate national securities exchange as a market maker 

or specialist in listed options.

Equity option. This is any option:

• To buy or sell stock, or

• That is valued directly or indirectly by reference to any 

stock or narrow-based security index.

Equity options include options on a group of stocks only if 

the group is a narrow-based stock index.

Dealer securities futures contract. For any dealer in 

securities futures contracts or options on those contracts, 

this is a securities futures contract (or option on such a 

contract) that:

• Is entered into by the dealer (or, in the case of an option, is purchased or granted by the dealer) in the normal course of the dealer's activity of dealing in this 

type of contract (or option); and

• Is traded on a qualified board or exchange (as defined 

under Regulated futures contract, earlier).

A securities futures contract that is not a dealer securities 

futures contract is treated as described later under Securities Futures Contracts.

Marked-to-Market Rules

A section 1256 contract that you hold at the end of the tax 

year will generally be treated as sold at its fair market 

value on the last business day of the tax year, and you 

must recognize any gain or loss that results. That gain or 

loss is taken into account in figuring your gain or loss 

when you later dispose of the contract, as shown in the 

Example under 60/40 rule below.

Hedging exception. The marked-to-market rules do not 

apply to hedging transactions. See Hedging Transactions, 

later.

60/40 rule. Under the marked-to-market system, 60% of 

your capital gain or loss will be treated as a long-term capital gain or loss, and 40% will be treated as a short-term 

capital gain or loss. This is true regardless of how long you 

actually held the property.

Example. On June 1, 2022, you bought a regulated futures contract for $50,000. On December 31, 2022 (the 

last business day of your tax year), the fair market value of 

the contract was $57,000. You recognized a $7,000 gain 

on your 2022 tax return. You treated 60% of the gain as 

long-term capital gain and 40% as short-term capital gain.

56 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
On February 1, 2023, you sold the contract for $56,000. 

Because you recognized a $7,000 gain on your 2022 return, you recognize a $1,000 loss ($57,000 − $56,000) on 

your 2023 tax return, treated as 60% long-term and 40% 

short-term capital loss.

Limited partners or entrepreneurs. The 60/40 rule 

does not apply to dealer equity options or dealer securities futures contracts that result in capital gain or loss allocable to limited partners or limited entrepreneurs (defined 

later under Hedging Transactions). Instead, these gains or 

losses are treated as short term.

Terminations and transfers. The marked-to-market 

rules also apply if your obligation or rights under section 

1256 contracts are terminated or transferred during the tax 

year. In this case, use the fair market value of each section 

1256 contract at the time of termination or transfer to determine the gain or loss. Terminations or transfers may result from any offsetting, delivery, exercise, assignment, or 

lapse of your obligation or rights under section 1256 contracts.

Loss carryback election. An individual having a net 

section 1256 contracts loss (defined later) can generally 

elect to carry this loss back 3 years instead of carrying it 

over to the next year. See How To Report, later, for information about reporting this election on your return.

The loss carried back to any year under this election 

cannot be more than the net section 1256 contracts gain 

in that year. In addition, the amount of loss carried back to 

an earlier tax year cannot increase or produce a net operating loss for that year.

The loss is carried to the earliest carryback year first, 

and any unabsorbed loss amount can then be carried to 

each of the next 2 tax years. In each carryback year, treat 

60% of the carryback amount as a long-term capital loss 

and 40% as a short-term capital loss from section 1256 

contracts.

If only a portion of the net section 1256 contracts loss is 

absorbed by carrying the loss back, the unabsorbed portion can be carried forward, under the capital loss carryover rules, to the year following the loss. For more information, see Capital Losses, later. Figure your capital loss 

carryover as if, for the loss year, you had an additional 

short-term capital gain of 40% of the amount of net section 1256 contracts loss absorbed in the carryback years 

and an additional long-term capital gain of 60% of the absorbed loss. In the carryover year, treat any capital loss 

carryover from losses on section 1256 contracts as if it 

were a loss from section 1256 contracts for that year.

Net section 1256 contracts loss. This loss is the 

lesser of:

• The net capital loss for your tax year determined by 

taking into account only the gains and losses from 

section 1256 contracts, or

• The capital loss carryover to the next tax year determined without this election.

Net section 1256 contracts gain. This gain is the 

lesser of:

• The capital gain net income for the carryback year determined by taking into account only gains and losses 

from section 1256 contracts, or

• The capital gain net income for that year.

Figure your net section 1256 contracts gain for any carryback year without regard to the net section 1256 contracts 

loss for the loss year or any later tax year.

Traders in section 1256 contracts. Gain or loss from 

the trading of section 1256 contracts is capital gain or loss 

subject to the marked-to-market rules. However, this does 

not apply to contracts held for purposes of hedging property if any loss from the property would be an ordinary 

loss.

Treatment of underlying property. The determination of whether an individual's gain or loss from any property is ordinary or capital gain or loss is made without regard to the fact that the individual is actively engaged in 

dealing in or trading section 1256 contracts related to that 

property.

Deferral of net gain from section 1256 contracts due 

to investment in Qualified Opportunity Fund. For 

special rules relating to the deferral of net gain from section 1256 contracts, see section 1400Z-2. See the Form 

8949 instructions for how to report.

How To Report

If you disposed of regulated futures or foreign currency 

contracts in 2023 (or had unrealized profit or loss on these 

contracts that were open at the end of 2022 or 2023), you 

should receive Form 1099-B from your broker.

Form 6781. Use Part I of Form 6781 to report your gains 

and losses from all section 1256 contracts that are open 

at the end of the year or that were closed out during the 

year. This includes the amount shown in box 11 of Form 

1099-B. Then enter the net amount of these gains and losses on Schedule D (Form 1040), line 4 or line 11, as appropriate. Include a copy of Form 6781 with your income 

tax return.

If the Form 1099-B you receive includes a straddle or 

hedging transaction, defined later, it may be necessary to 

show certain adjustments on Form 6781. Follow the Form 

6781 instructions for completing Part I.

Loss carryback election. To carry back your loss under 

the election procedures described earlier, file Form 

1040-X or Form 1045, Application for Tentative Refund, for 

the year to which you are carrying the loss with an amended Form 6781 and an amended Schedule D (Form 1040) 

attached. Follow the instructions for completing Form 

6781 for the loss year to make this election.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 57
Hedging Transactions

The marked-to-market rules, described earlier, do not apply to hedging transactions. A transaction is a hedging 

transaction if both of the following conditions are met.

1. You entered into the transaction in the normal course 

of your trade or business primarily to manage the risk 

of:

a. Price changes or currency fluctuations on ordinary 

property you hold (or will hold); or

b. Interest rate or price changes, or currency fluctuations, on your current or future borrowings or ordinary obligations.

2. You clearly identified the transaction as being a hedging transaction before the close of the day on which 

you entered

into it.

This hedging transaction exception does not apply to 

transactions entered into by or for any syndicate. A syndicate is a partnership, S corporation, or other entity (other 

than a regular corporation) that allocates more than 35% 

of its losses to limited partners or limited entrepreneurs. A 

limited entrepreneur is a person who has an interest in an 

enterprise (but not as a limited partner) and who does not 

actively participate in its management. However, an interest is not considered held by a limited partner or entrepreneur if the interest holder actively participates (or did so 

for at least 5 full years) in the management of the entity, or 

is the spouse, child (including a legally adopted child), 

grandchild, or parent of an individual who actively participates in the management of the entity.

Hedging loss limit. If you are a limited partner or entrepreneur in a syndicate, the amount of a hedging loss you 

can claim is limited. A “hedging loss” is the amount by 

which the allowable deductions in a tax year that resulted 

from a hedging transaction (determined without regard to 

the limit) are more than the income received or accrued 

during the tax year from this transaction.

Any hedging loss allocated to you for the tax year is 

limited to your taxable income for that year from the trade 

or business in which the hedging transaction occurred. Ignore any hedging transaction items in determining this 

taxable income. If you have a hedging loss that is disallowed because of this limit, you can carry it over to the 

next tax year as a deduction resulting from a hedging 

transaction.

If the hedging transaction relates to property other than 

stock or securities, the limit on hedging losses applies if 

the limited partner or entrepreneur is an individual.

The limit on hedging losses does not apply to any 

hedging loss to the extent that it is more than all your unrecognized gains from hedging transactions at the end of 

the tax year that are from the trade or business in which 

the hedging transaction occurred. The term “unrecognized 

gain” has the same meaning as defined under Loss Deferral Rules, later.

Sale of property used in a hedge. Once you identify 

personal property as being part of a hedging transaction, 

you must treat gain from its sale or exchange as ordinary 

income, not capital gain.

Self-Employment Income

Gains and losses derived in the ordinary course of a commodity or option dealer's trading in section 1256 contracts 

and property related to these contracts are included in net 

earnings from self-employment. See the Instructions for 

Schedule SE (Form 1040). In addition, the rules relating to 

contributions to self-employment retirement plans apply. 

For information on retirement plan contributions, see Pub. 

560 and Pub. 590-A.

Basis of

Investment Property

Terms you may need to know 

(see Glossary):

Basis

Fair market value

Original issue discount (OID)

Basis is a way of measuring your investment in property 

for tax purposes. You must know the basis of your property to determine whether you have a gain or loss on its 

sale or other disposition.

Investment property you buy normally has an original 

basis equal to its cost. If you get property in some way 

other than buying it, such as by gift or inheritance, its fair 

market value may be important in figuring the basis.

Cost Basis

The basis of property you buy is usually its cost. The cost 

is the amount you pay in cash, debt obligations, or other 

property or services.

Unstated interest. If you buy property on a time-payment plan that charges little or no interest, the basis of 

your property is your stated purchase price, minus the 

amount considered to be unstated interest. You generally 

have unstated interest if your interest rate is less than the 

applicable federal rate. For more information, see Unstated Interest and Original Issue Discount (OID) in Pub. 537.

Basis Other Than Cost

There are times when you must use a basis other than 

cost. In these cases, you may need to know the property's 

fair market value or the adjusted basis of the previous 

owner.

58 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
Fair market value. This is the price at which the property 

would change hands between a buyer and a seller, neither 

being forced to buy or sell and both having reasonable 

knowledge of all the relevant facts. Sales of similar property, around the same date, may be helpful in figuring fair 

market value.

Property Received for Services

If you receive investment property for services, you must 

include the property's fair market value in income. The 

amount you include in income then becomes your basis in 

the property. If the services were performed for a price that 

was agreed to beforehand, this price will be accepted as 

the fair market value of the property if there is no evidence 

to the contrary.

Restricted property. If you receive, as payment for services, property that is subject to certain restrictions, your 

basis in the property is generally its fair market value when 

it becomes substantially vested. Property becomes substantially vested when it is transferable or is no longer subject to substantial risk of forfeiture, whichever happens 

first. See Restricted Property in Pub. 525 for more information.

Bargain purchases. If you buy investment property at 

less than fair market value, as payment for services, you 

must include the difference in income. Your basis in the 

property is the price you pay plus the amount you include 

in income.

Property Received

in Taxable Trades

If you received investment property in trade for other property, the basis of the new property is its fair market value at 

the time of the trade unless you received the property in a 

nontaxable trade.

Example. You trade A Company stock for B Company 

stock having a fair market value of $1,200. If the adjusted 

basis of the A Company stock is less than $1,200, you 

have a taxable gain on the trade. If the adjusted basis of 

the A Company stock is more than $1,200, you have a deductible loss on the trade. The basis of your B Company 

stock is $1,200. If you later sell the B Company stock for 

$1,300, you will have a gain of $100.

Property Received

in Nontaxable Trades

If you have a nontaxable trade, you do not recognize gain 

or loss until you dispose of the real property you received 

in the trade. See Nontaxable Trades, later.

The basis of property you received in a nontaxable or 

partly nontaxable trade is generally the same as the adjusted basis of the property you gave up. Increase this 

amount by any cash you paid, additional costs you had, 

and any gain recognized. Reduce this amount by any 

cash or unlike property you received, any loss recognized, 

and any liability of yours that was assumed or treated as 

assumed.

Property Received

From Your Spouse

If property is transferred to you from your spouse (or former spouse, if the transfer is incident to your divorce), your 

basis is the same as your spouse's or former spouse's adjusted basis just before the transfer. See Transfers Between Spouses, later.

Recordkeeping. The transferor must give you the 

records necessary to determine the adjusted basis and holding period of the property as of the 

date of the transfer.

Property Received as a Gift

To figure your basis in property that you received as a gift, 

you must know its adjusted basis to the donor just before it 

was given to you, its fair market value at the time it was 

given to you, the amount of any gift tax paid on it, and the 

date it was given to you.

Fair market value less than donor's adjusted basis. If 

the fair market value of the property at the time of the gift 

was less than the donor's adjusted basis just before the 

gift, your basis for gain on its sale or other disposition is 

the same as the donor's adjusted basis plus or minus any 

required adjustments to basis during the period you hold 

the property. Your basis for loss is its fair market value at 

the time of the gift plus or minus any required adjustments 

to basis during the period you hold the property.

No gain or loss. If you use the basis for figuring a 

gain and the result is a loss, and then use the basis for figuring a loss and the result is a gain, you will have neither a 

gain nor a loss.

Example. You receive a gift of investment property 

having an adjusted basis of $10,000 at the time of the gift. 

The fair market value at the time of the gift is $9,000. You 

later sell the property for $9,500. Your basis for figuring 

gain is $10,000, and $9,500 minus $10,000 results in a 

$500 loss. Your basis for figuring loss is $9,000, and 

$9,500 minus $9,000 results in a $500 gain. You have neither gain nor loss.

Fair market value equal to or more than donor's adjusted basis. If the fair market value of the property at 

the time of the gift was equal to or more than the donor's 

adjusted basis just before the gift, your basis for gain or 

loss on its sale or other disposition is the donor's adjusted 

basis plus or minus any required adjustments to basis during the period you hold the property. Also, you may be allowed to add to the donor's adjusted basis all or part of 

any gift tax paid, depending on the date of the gift.

Gift received after 1976. If you received property as 

a gift after 1976, your basis is the donor's adjusted basis 

increased by the part of the gift tax paid that was for the 

net increase in value of the gift. You figure this part by 

RECORDS

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 59
multiplying the gift tax paid on the gift by a fraction. The 

numerator (top part) is the net increase in value of the gift 

and the denominator (bottom part) is the amount of the 

gift.

The net increase in value of the gift is the fair market 

value of the gift minus the donor's adjusted basis. The 

amount of the gift is its value for gift tax purposes after reduction by any annual exclusion and marital or charitable 

deduction that applies to the gift.

Example. In 2023, you received a gift of property from 

your mother. At the time of the gift, the property had a fair 

market value of $101,000 and an adjusted basis to her of 

$40,000. The amount of the gift for gift tax purposes was 

$84,000 ($101,000 minus the $17,000 annual exclusion), 

and your mother paid a gift tax of $19,320. You figure your 

basis in the following way:

Fair market value ....................... $101,000 

Minus: Adjusted basis .................... 40,000 

Net increase in value of gift ................. $ 61,000 

Gift tax paid .......................... $ 19,320 

Multiplied by 0.726 ($61,000 ÷ $84,000) ......... 0.726 

Gift tax due to net increase in value ............ $ 14,026 

Plus: Adjusted basis of property to 

your mother .......................... 40,000 

Your basis in the property $ 54,026 

Part sale, part gift. If you get property in a transfer that 

is partly a sale and partly a gift, your basis is the larger of 

the amount you paid for the property or the transferor's adjusted basis in the property at the time of the transfer. Add 

to that amount the amount of any gift tax paid on the gift, 

as described in the preceding discussion. For figuring 

loss, your basis is limited to the property's fair market 

value at the time of the transfer.

Gift tax information. For information on gift tax, see 

Pub. 559. For information on figuring the amount of gift tax 

to add to your basis, see Property Received as a Gift in 

Pub. 551.

Property Received as Inheritance

Before or after 2010. If you inherited property from a 

decedent who died before or after 2010, or who died in 

2010 and the executor of the decedent's estate elected 

not to file Form 8939, Allocation of Increase in Basis for 

Property Acquired From a Decedent, your basis in that 

property is generally its fair market value (its appraised 

value on Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return) on:

• The date of the decedent's death; or

• The later alternate valuation date if the estate qualifies 

for, and elects to use, alternate valuation.

In certain circumstances, the executor of an estate (or 

other person) required to file Form 706 after July 15, 2015, 

will be required to provide a Schedule A (Form 8971) to 

you as a beneficiary who receives or is to receive property 

from the estate. If you receive Schedule A (Form 8971), 

use the final estate tax value of the property reported on 

the Schedule A to determine your basis in the property.

If no Form 706 was filed, or the executor was not required to provide you Schedule A (Form 8971), use the 

appraised value on the date of death for state inheritance 

or transmission taxes. For stocks and bonds, if no Form 

706 was filed and there are no state inheritance or transmission taxes, see the Form 706 instructions for figuring 

the fair market value of the stocks and bonds on the date 

of the decedent's death.

Appreciated property you gave the decedent. Your 

basis in certain appreciated property that you inherited is 

the decedent's adjusted basis in the property immediately 

before death rather than its fair market value. This applies 

to appreciated property that you or your spouse gave the 

decedent as a gift during the 1-year period ending on the 

date of death. Appreciated property is any property whose 

fair market value on the day you gave it to the decedent 

was more than its adjusted basis.

More information. See Pub. 551 for more information 

on the basis of inherited property, including community 

property, property held by a surviving tenant in a joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety, a qualified joint interest, 

and a farm or closely held business.

Inherited in 2010 and executor elected to file Form 

8939. If you inherited property from a decedent who died 

in 2010 and the executor made the election to file Form 

8939, see Revenue Procedure 2011-41 to figure your basis. Revenue Procedure 2011-41 is available at 

IRS.gov/rb/2011-35_IRB#RP-2011-41.

For additional information on an executor making the 

election, see also Notice 2011-66, 2011-35 I.R.B. 184, 

available at IRS.gov/irb/2011-35_IRB#NOT-2011-66.

Adjusted Basis

Before you can figure any gain or loss on a sale, exchange, or other disposition of property or figure allowable 

depreciation, depletion, or amortization, you must usually 

make certain adjustments (increases and decreases) to 

the basis of the property. The result of these adjustments 

to the basis is the adjusted basis.

Adjustments to the basis of stocks and bonds are explained in the following discussion. For information about 

other adjustments to basis, see Pub. 551.

Stocks and Bonds

The basis of stocks or bonds you own is generally the purchase price plus the costs of purchase, such as commissions and recording or transfer fees. If you acquired stock 

or bonds other than by purchase, your basis is usually determined by fair market value or the previous owner's adjusted basis as discussed earlier under Basis Other Than 

Cost.

The basis of stock must be adjusted for certain events 

that occur after purchase. For example, if you receive 

more stock from nontaxable stock dividends or stock 

60 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
splits, you must reduce the basis of your original stock. 

You must also reduce your basis when you receive nondividend distributions (discussed in chapter 1). These distributions, up to the amount of your basis, are a nontaxable 

return of capital.

The IRS partners with companies that offer Form 

8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040) software that 

can import trades from many brokerage firms and 

accounting software to help you keep track of your adjusted basis in securities. To find out more, go to IRS.gov/

Filing.

Identifying stock or bonds sold. If you can adequately 

identify the shares of stock or the bonds you sold, their basis is the cost or other basis of the particular shares of 

stock or bonds.

Adequate identification. You will make an adequate 

identification if you show that certificates representing 

shares of stock from a lot that you bought on a certain 

date or for a certain price were delivered to your broker or 

other agent.

Broker holds stock. If you have left the stock certificates with your broker or other agent, you will make an adequate identification if you:

• Tell your broker or other agent the particular stock to 

be sold or transferred at the time of the sale or transfer, and

• Receive a written confirmation of this from your broker 

or other agent within a reasonable time.

Stock identified this way is the stock sold or transferred 

even if stock certificates from a different lot are delivered 

to the broker or other agent.

Single stock certificate. If you bought stock in different lots at different times and you hold a single stock certificate for this stock, you will make an adequate identification if you:

• Tell your broker or other agent the particular stock to 

be sold or transferred when you deliver the certificate 

to your broker or other agent, and

• Receive a written confirmation of this from your broker 

or other agent within a reasonable time.

If you sell part of the stock represented by a single certificate directly to the buyer instead of through a broker, 

you will make an adequate identification if you keep a written record of the particular stock that you intend to sell.

Bonds. These methods of identification also apply to 

bonds sold or transferred.

Identification not possible. If you buy and sell securities at various times in varying quantities and you cannot adequately identify the shares you sell, the basis of 

the securities you sell is the basis of the securities you acquired first. Except for certain mutual fund shares, discussed later, you cannot use the average price per share 

to figure gain or loss on the sale of the shares.

TIP

Example. You bought 100 shares of stock of XYZ 

Corporation in 2008 for $10 per share. In January 2009, 

you bought another 200 shares for $11 per share. In July 

2009, you gave your son 50 shares. In December 2011, 

you bought 100 shares for $9 per share. In April 2023, you 

sold 130 shares. You cannot identify the shares you disposed of, so you must use the stock you acquired first to 

figure the basis. The shares of stock you gave your son 

had a basis of $500 (50 × $10). You figure the basis of the 

130 shares of stock you sold in April 2023 as follows:

50 shares (50 × $10) balance of stock bought in 

2008 ................................ $  500 

80 shares (80 × $11) stock bought in January 2009 . . 880 

Total basis of stock sold in 2023 $1,380 

Shares in a mutual fund or real estate investment 

trust (REIT). The basis of shares in a mutual fund (or 

other regulated investment company) or a REIT is generally figured in the same way as the basis of other stock 

and usually includes any commissions or load charges 

paid for the purchase.

Example. You bought 100 shares of Fund A for $10 

per share. You paid a $50 commission to the broker for the 

purchase. Your cost basis for each share is $10.50 

($1,050 ÷ 100).

Commissions and load charges. The fees and 

charges you pay to acquire or redeem shares of a mutual 

fund are not deductible. You can usually add acquisition 

fees and charges to your cost of the shares and thereby 

increase your basis. A fee paid to redeem the shares is 

usually a reduction in the redemption price (sales price).

You cannot add your entire acquisition fee or load 

charge to the cost of the mutual fund shares acquired if all 

of the following conditions apply. 

1. You get a reinvestment right because of the purchase 

of the shares or the payment of the fee or charge.

2. You dispose of the shares within 90 days of the purchase date.

3. You acquire new shares in the same mutual fund or 

another mutual fund, for which the fee or charge is reduced or waived because of the reinvestment right 

you got when you acquired the original shares.

The amount of the original fee or charge in excess of 

the reduction in (3) is added to the cost of the original 

shares. The rest of the original fee or charge is added to 

the cost basis of the new shares (unless all three conditions above also apply to the purchase of the new shares).

Choosing average basis for mutual fund shares. 

You can choose to use the average basis of mutual fund 

shares if you acquired the identical shares at various times 

and prices, or you acquired the shares after 2011 in connection with a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP), and left 

them on deposit in an account kept by a custodian or 

agent. The methods you can use to figure average basis 

are explained later.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 61
Undistributed capital gains. If you had to include in 

your income any undistributed capital gains of the mutual 

fund or REIT, increase your basis in the stock by the difference between the amount you included and the amount of 

tax paid for you by the fund or REIT. See Undistributed 

capital gains of mutual funds and REITs in chapter 1.

Reinvestment right. This is the right to acquire mutual fund shares in the same or another mutual fund without paying a fee or load charge, or by paying a reduced 

fee or load charge.

The original cost basis of mutual fund shares you acquire by reinvesting your distributions is the amount of the 

distributions used to purchase each full or fractional share. 

This rule applies even if the distribution is an exempt-interest dividend that you do not report as income.

Table 4-1. This is a worksheet you can use to 

keep track of the adjusted basis of your mutual 

fund shares. Enter the cost per share when you 

acquire new shares and any adjustments to their basis 

when the adjustment occurs. This worksheet will help you 

figure the adjusted basis when you sell or redeem shares.

RECORDS

Automatic investment service. If you participate in an 

automatic investment service, your basis for each share of 

stock, including fractional shares, bought by the bank or 

other agent is the purchase price plus a share of the broker's commission.

DRPs. If you participate in a DRP and receive stock from 

the corporation at a discount, your basis is the full fair market value of the stock on the dividend payment date. You 

must include the amount of the discount in your income.

Public utilities. If, before 1986, you excluded from income the value of stock you had received under a qualified public utility reinvestment plan, your basis in that 

stock is zero.

Stock dividends. Stock dividends are distributions made 

by a corporation of its own stock. Generally, stock dividends are not taxable to you. However, see Distributions 

of Stock and Stock Rights in chapter 1 for some exceptions. If the stock dividends are not taxable, you must divide your basis for the old stock between the old and new 

stock.

Table 4-1. Mutual Fund Record

Mutual Fund

Acquired 1

Adjustment to Basis per Share

Adjusted 

2

 Basis 

per Share

Sold or Redeemed

Date

Number 

of 

Shares

Cost 

per 

Share

Date

Number

 of 

Shares

1

 Include share received from reinvestment of distributions.

2

 Cost plus or minus adjustments.

62 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
New and old stock identical. If the new stock you received as a nontaxable dividend is identical to the old 

stock on which the dividend was declared, divide the adjusted basis of the old stock by the number of shares of 

old and new stock. The result is your basis for each share 

of stock.

Example 1. You owned one share of common stock 

that you bought for $45. The corporation distributed two 

new shares of common stock for each share held. You 

then had three shares of common stock. Your basis in 

each share is $15 ($45 ÷ 3).

Example 2. You owned two shares of common stock. 

You bought one for $30 and the other for $45. The corporation distributed two new shares of common stock for 

each share held. You had six shares after the distribution—three with a basis of $10 each ($30 ÷ 3) and three 

with a basis of $15 each ($45 ÷ 3).

New and old stock not identical. If the new stock 

you received as a nontaxable dividend is not identical to 

the old stock on which it was declared, the basis of the 

new stock is figured differently. Divide the adjusted basis 

of the old stock between the old and the new stock in the 

ratio of the fair market value of each lot of stock to the total 

fair market value of both lots on the date of distribution of 

the new stock.

Example. You bought a share of common stock for 

$100. Later, the corporation distributed a share of preferred stock for each share of common stock held. At the 

date of distribution, your common stock had a fair market 

value of $150 and the preferred stock had a fair market 

value of $50. You figure the basis of the old and new stock 

by dividing your $100 basis between them. The basis of 

your common stock is $75 (($150 ÷ $200) × $100), and 

the basis of the new preferred stock is $25 (($50 ÷ $200) × 

$100).

Stock bought at various times. Figure the basis of 

stock dividends received on stock you bought at various 

times and at different prices by allocating to each lot of 

stock the share of the stock dividends due to it.

Taxable stock dividends. If your stock dividend is 

taxable when you receive it, the basis of your new stock is 

its fair market value on the date of distribution. The basis 

of your old stock does not change.

Stock splits. Figure the basis of stock splits in the same 

way as stock dividends if identical stock is distributed on 

the stock held.

Stock rights. A stock right is a right to acquire a corporation's stock. It may be exercised, it may be sold if it has a 

market value, or it may expire. Stock rights are rarely taxable when you receive them. See Distributions of Stock and 

Stock Rights in chapter 1.

Taxable stock rights. If you receive stock rights that 

are taxable, the basis of the rights is their fair market value 

at the time of distribution. The basis of the old stock does 

not change.

Nontaxable stock rights. If you receive nontaxable 

stock rights and allow them to expire, they have no basis.

If you exercise or sell the nontaxable stock rights and if, 

at the time of distribution, the stock rights had a fair market 

value of 15% or more of the fair market value of the old 

stock, you must divide the adjusted basis of the old stock 

between the old stock and the stock rights. Use a ratio of 

the fair market value of each to the total fair market value 

of both at the time of distribution.

If the fair market value of the stock rights was less than 

15%, their basis is zero. However, you can choose to divide the basis of the old stock between the old stock and 

the stock rights. To make the choice, attach a statement to 

your return for the year in which you received the rights, 

stating that you choose to divide the basis of the stock.

Basis of new stock. If you exercise the stock rights, 

the basis of the new stock is its cost plus the basis of the 

stock rights exercised.

Example. You own 100 shares of ABC Company 

stock, which cost you $22 per share. The ABC Company 

gave you 10 nontaxable stock rights that would allow you 

to buy 10 more shares at $26 per share. At the time the 

stock rights were distributed, the stock had a market value 

of $30, not including the stock rights. Each stock right had 

a market value of $3. The market value of the stock rights 

was less than 15% of the market value of the stock, but 

you chose to divide the basis of your stock between the 

stock and the rights. You figure the basis of the rights and 

the basis of the old stock as follows:

100 shares × $22 = $2,200, basis of old stock 

100 shares × $30 = $3,000, market value of old stock 

10 rights × $3 = $30, market value of rights 

($3,000 ÷ $3,030) × $2,200 = $2,178.22, new basis of old stock 

($30 ÷ $3,030) × $2,200 = $21.78, basis of rights 

If you sell the rights, the basis for figuring gain or loss is 

$2.18 ($21.78 ÷ 10) per right. If you exercise the rights, the 

basis of the stock you acquire is the price you pay ($26) 

plus the basis of the right exercised ($2.18), or $28.18 per 

share. The remaining basis of the old stock is $21.78 per 

share.

Investment property received in liquidation. In general, if you receive investment property as a distribution in 

partial or complete liquidation of a corporation and if you 

recognize gain or loss when you acquire the property, your 

basis in the property is its fair market value at the time of 

the distribution.

S corporation stock. You must increase your basis in 

stock of an S corporation by your pro rata share of the following items.

• All income items of the S corporation, including tax-exempt income, that are separately stated and passed 

through to you as a shareholder.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 63
• The nonseparately stated income of the S corporation.

• The amount of the deduction for depletion (other than 

oil and gas depletion) that is more than the basis of 

the property being depleted.

You must decrease your basis in stock of an S corporation by your pro rata share of the following items.

• Distributions by the S corporation that were not included in your income.

• All loss and deduction items of the S corporation that 

are separately stated and passed through to you.

• Any nonseparately stated loss of the S corporation.

• Any expense of the S corporation that is not deductible in figuring its taxable income and not properly 

chargeable to a capital account.

• The amount of your deduction for depletion of oil and 

gas wells to the extent the deduction is not more than 

your share of the adjusted basis of the wells.

However, your basis in the stock cannot be reduced below 

zero.

Qualified small business stock. If you bought this 

stock as replacement property for other qualified small 

business stock you sold at a gain, you must reduce the 

basis of this replacement stock by the amount of any postponed gain on the earlier sale. See Gains on Qualified 

Small Business Stock, later.

Short sales. If you cannot deduct payments you make to 

a lender in lieu of dividends on stock used in a short sale, 

the amount you pay to the lender is a capital expense, and 

you must add it to the basis of the stock used to close the 

short sale.

See Payments in lieu of dividends, later, for information 

about deducting payments in lieu of dividends.

Premiums on bonds. If you buy a bond at a premium, 

the premium is treated as part of your basis in the bond. If 

you choose to amortize the premium paid on a taxable 

bond, you must reduce the basis of the bond by the amortized part of the premium each year over the life of the 

bond.

For a taxable bond acquired at a premium that is a covered security, unless you instruct your broker that you do 

not want to amortize premium, your broker will report income on the bond and your basis in the bond by amortizing premium. Your broker may report the amount of premium amortization for a tax year separately from the 

amount of gross interest income in boxes 11 and 12 of 

Form 1099-INT or box 10 of Form 1099-OID, or may report 

net interest in boxes 1 and 3 of Form 1099-INT or box 2 of 

Form 1099-OID.

Although you cannot deduct the premium on a tax-exempt bond, you must amortize it to determine your adjusted basis in the bond. You must reduce the basis of the 

bond by the premium you amortized for the period you 

held the bond. For a tax-exempt covered security acquired 

at a premium, box 13 of Form 1099-INT or box 10 of Form 

1099-OID shows the amount of bond premium 

amortization allocable to the interest paid during the tax 

year. If a net amount of interest appears in box 8 or 9 of 

Form 1099-INT, whichever is applicable, box 13 of Form 

1099-INT should be blank. If a net amount of interest appears in box 2 of Form 1099-OID, box 10 of Form 

1099-OID should be blank.

See Bond Premium Amortization in chapter 3 for more 

information.

Market discount on bonds. If you include market discount on a bond in income currently, increase the basis of 

your bond by the amount of market discount you include in 

your income. See Market Discount Bonds in chapter 1 for 

more information.

Bonds purchased at par value. A bond purchased at 

par value (face amount) has no premium or discount. 

When you sell or otherwise dispose of the bond, you figure the gain or loss by comparing the bond proceeds to 

the purchase price of the bond.

Example. You purchased a bond several years ago for 

its par value of $10,000. You sold the bond this year for 

$10,100. You have a gain of $100. However, if you had 

sold the bond for $9,900, you would have a loss of $100.

Acquisition discount on short-term obligations. If you 

include acquisition discount on a short-term obligation in 

your income currently, increase the basis of the obligation 

by the amount of acquisition discount you include in your 

income. See Discount on Short-Term Obligations in chapter 1 for more information.

Original issue discount (OID) on debt instruments. 

Increase the basis of a debt instrument by the OID you include in your income. See Original Issue Discount (OID) in 

chapter 1.

If your debt instrument is a covered security, your 

broker will report a basis amount that is adjusted for OID 

included in income.

Discounted tax-exempt obligations. OID on tax-exempt obligations is generally not taxable. However, when 

you dispose of a tax-exempt obligation issued after September 3, 1982, that you acquired after March 1, 1984, 

you must accrue OID on the obligation to determine its adjusted basis. The accrued OID is added to the basis of the 

obligation to determine your gain or loss. If your tax-exempt obligation is a covered security, your broker will report a basis amount that is adjusted for tax-exempt OID.

For information on determining OID on a long-term obligation, see Debt Instruments Issued After July 1, 1982, 

and Before 1985 or Debt Instruments Issued After 1984, 

whichever applies, in Pub. 1212 under Figuring OID on 

Long-Term Debt Instruments.

If the tax-exempt obligation has a maturity of 1 year or 

less, accrue OID under the rules for acquisition discount 

on short-term obligations. See Discount on Short-Term 

Obligations in chapter 1.

Stripped tax-exempt obligation. If you acquired a 

stripped tax-exempt bond or coupon after October 22, 

1986, you must accrue OID on it to determine its adjusted 

basis when you dispose of it. For stripped tax-exempt 

64 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
bonds or coupons acquired after June 10, 1987, part of 

this OID may be taxable. You accrue the OID on these obligations in the manner described in chapter 1 under Stripped Bonds and Coupons.

Increase your basis in the stripped tax-exempt bond or 

coupon by the taxable and nontaxable accrued OID. Also 

increase your basis by the interest that accrued (but was 

not paid and was not previously reflected in your basis) 

before the date you sold the bond or coupon. In addition, 

for bonds acquired after June 10, 1987, add to your basis 

any accrued market discount not previously reflected in 

basis.

How To Figure

Gain or Loss

You figure gain or loss on a sale or trade of property by 

subtracting the adjusted basis of the property from the 

amount you realize on the sale or trade.

Gain. If the amount you realize from a sale or trade is 

more than the adjusted basis of the property you transfer, 

the difference is a gain.

Loss. If the adjusted basis of the property you transfer is 

more than the amount you realize, the difference is a loss.

Amount realized. The amount you realize from a sale or 

trade of property is everything you receive for the property 

minus your expenses related to the sale (such as redemption fees, sales commissions, sales charges, or exit fees). 

Amount realized includes the money you receive plus the 

fair market value of any property or services you receive.

If you finance the buyer's purchase of your property and 

the debt instrument does not provide for adequate stated 

interest, the unstated interest that you must report as ordinary income will reduce the amount realized from the sale. 

For more information, see Pub. 537.

If a buyer of property issues a debt instrument to the 

seller of the property, the amount realized is determined 

by reference to the issue price of the debt instrument, 

which may or may not be the fair market value of the debt 

instrument. See Regulations section 1.1001-1(g). However, if the debt instrument was previously issued by a 

third party (one not part of the sale transaction), the fair 

market value of the debt instrument is used to determine 

the amount realized.

Fair market value. Fair market value is the price at 

which property would change hands between a buyer and 

a seller, neither being forced to buy or sell and both having 

reasonable knowledge of all the relevant facts.

Example. You trade A Company stock with an adjusted basis of $7,000 for B Company stock with a fair market 

value of $10,000, which is your amount realized. Your gain 

is $3,000 ($10,000 – $7,000). If you also receive a note for 

$6,000 that has an issue price of $6,000, your gain is 

$9,000 ($10,000 + $6,000 – $7,000).

Debt paid off. A debt against the property, or against 

you, that is paid off as a part of the transaction or that is 

assumed by the buyer must be included in the amount realized. This is true even if neither you nor the buyer is personally liable for the debt. For example, if you sell or trade 

property that is subject to a nonrecourse loan, the amount 

you realize generally includes the full amount of the note 

assumed by the buyer even if the amount of the note is 

more than the fair market value of the property.

Example. You sell stock that you had pledged as security for a bank loan of $8,000. Your basis in the stock is 

$6,000. The buyer pays off your bank loan and pays you 

$20,000 in cash. The amount realized is $28,000 

($20,000 + $8,000). Your gain is $22,000 ($28,000 – 

$6,000).

Payment of cash. If you trade property and cash for 

other property, the amount you realize is the fair market 

value of the property you receive. Determine your gain or 

loss by subtracting the cash you pay and the adjusted basis of the property you trade in from the amount you realize. If the result is a positive number, it is a gain. If the result is a negative number, it is a loss.

No gain or loss. You may have to use a basis for figuring gain that is different from the basis used for figuring 

loss. In this case, you may have neither a gain nor a loss. 

See No gain or loss in the discussion on the basis of property you received as a gift under Basis Other Than Cost, 

earlier.

Special Rules for Mutual Funds

To figure your gain or loss when you dispose of mutual 

fund shares, you need to determine which shares were 

sold and the basis of those shares. If your shares in a mutual fund were acquired all on the same day and for the 

same price, figuring their basis is not difficult. However, 

shares are generally acquired at various times, in various 

quantities, and at various prices. Therefore, figuring your 

basis can be more difficult. You can choose to use either a 

cost basis or an average basis to figure your gain or loss.

Cost Basis

You can figure your gain or loss using a cost basis only if 

you did not previously use an average basis for a sale, exchange, or redemption of other shares in the same mutual 

fund.

To figure cost basis, you can choose one of the following methods.

• Specific share identification.

• First-in first-out (FIFO).

Specific share identification. If you adequately identify 

the shares you sold, you can use the adjusted basis of 

those particular shares to figure your gain or loss.

You will adequately identify your mutual fund shares, 

even if you bought the shares in different lots at various 

prices and times, if you:

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 65
1. Specify to your broker or other agent the particular 

shares to be sold or transferred at the time of the sale 

or transfer, and

2. Receive confirmation in writing from your broker or 

other agent within a reasonable time of your specification of the particular shares sold or transferred.

You continue to have the burden of proving your basis 

in the specified shares at the time of sale or transfer.

FIFO. If your shares were acquired at different times or at 

different prices and you cannot identify which shares you 

sold, use the basis of the shares you acquired first as the 

basis of the shares sold. In other words, the oldest shares 

you own are considered sold first. You should keep a separate record of each purchase and any dispositions of the 

shares until all shares purchased at the same time have 

been disposed of completely.

Table 4-2 illustrates the use of the FIFO method to figure the cost basis of shares sold, compared with the use 

of the average basis method (discussed next).

Average Basis

You can use the average basis method to determine the 

basis of shares of stock if the shares are identical to each 

other, you acquired them at different times and different 

prices and left them in an account with a custodian or 

agent, and either:

• They are shares in a mutual fund (or other regulated 

investment company);

• They are shares you hold in connection with a DRP, 

and all the shares you hold in connection with the DRP 

are treated as covered securities (defined later); or

• You acquired them after 2011 in connection with a 

DRP.

Average basis is determined by averaging the basis of 

all shares of identical stock in an account regardless of 

how long you have held the stock. However, shares of 

stock in a DRP are not identical to shares of stock with the 

same CUSIP number that are not in a DRP. The basis of 

each share of identical stock in the account is the aggregate basis of all shares of that stock in the account divided 

by the aggregate number of shares.

Transition rule from double-category method. You 

may no longer use the double-category method for figuring your average basis. If you were using the double-category method for stock you acquired before April 1, 2011, 

and you sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of that stock 

on or after April 1, 2011, you must figure the average basis 

of this stock by averaging together all identical shares of 

stock in the account on April 1, 2011, regardless of the 

holding period.

Election of average basis method for covered securities. To make the election to use the average basis 

method for your covered securities, you must send written 

notice to the custodian or agent who keeps the account. 

The written notice can be made electronically. You must 

also notify your broker that you have made the election. 

Generally, a covered security is a security you acquired after 2010, with certain exceptions explained in the Instructions for Form 8949.

You can make the election to use the average basis 

method at any time. The election will be effective for sales 

or other dispositions of stocks that occur after you notify 

the custodian or agent of your election. Your election must 

identify each account with that custodian or agent and 

each stock in that account to which the election applies. 

The election can also indicate that it applies to all accounts with a custodian or agent, including accounts you 

later establish with the custodian or agent.

Election of average basis method for noncovered securities. For noncovered securities, you elect to use the 

average basis method on your income tax return for the 

first tax year that the election applies. You make the election by showing on your return that you used the average 

basis method in reporting gain or loss on the sale or other 

disposition.

Revoking the average basis method election. You 

can revoke an election to use the average basis method 

for your covered securities by sending written notice to the 

custodian or agent holding the stock for which you want to 

revoke the election. The election must generally be revoked by the earlier of 1 year after you make the election 

or the date of the first sale, transfer, or disposition of the 

stock following the election. The revocation applies to all 

the stock you hold in an account that is identical to the 

shares of stock for which you are revoking the election. After revoking your election, your basis in the shares of stock 

to which the revocation applies is the basis before averaging.

You may be able to find the average basis of your 

shares from information provided by the fund.

Average basis method illustrated. Table 4-2 illustrates 

the average basis method of shares sold, compared with 

the use of the FIFO method to figure cost basis (discussed earlier).

Even though you include all unsold shares of identical 

stock in an account to figure average basis, you may have 

both short-term and long-term gains or losses when you 

sell these shares. To determine your holding period, the 

shares disposed of are considered to be those acquired 

first.

Example. You bought 400 identical shares in the LJO 

Mutual Fund: 200 shares on May 11, 2022, and 200 

shares on May 16, 2023. On November 16, 2023, you 

sold 300 shares. The basis of all 300 shares sold is the 

same, but you held 200 shares for more than 1 year, so 

your gain or loss on those shares is long term. You held 

100 shares for 1 year or less, so your gain or loss on those 

shares is short term.

How to figure the basis of shares sold. To figure the 

basis of shares you sell, use the steps in the following 

worksheet.

TIP

66 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
1. Enter the total adjusted basis of all the shares you 

owned in the fund just before the sale. (If you made 

an earlier sale of shares in this fund, add the 

adjusted basis of any shares you still owned after 

the last sale and the adjusted basis of any shares 

you acquired after that sale.) ............... $ 

2. Enter the total number of shares you owned in the 

fund just before the sale ..................

3. Divide the amount on line 1 by the amount on line 2. 

This is your average basis per share ......... $

4. Enter the number of shares you sold ..........

5. Multiply the amount on line 3 by the amount on 

line 4. This is the basis of the shares you sold . . $ 

Example 1. You bought 300 identical shares in the 

LJP Mutual Fund: 100 shares in 2019 for $1,000 ($10 per 

share); 100 shares in 2020 for $1,200 ($12 per share); 

and 100 shares in 2021 for $2,600 ($26 per share). Thus, 

the total cost of your shares was $4,800 ($1,000 + $1,200 

+ $2,600). On May 6, 2023, you sold 150 shares. The basis of the shares you sold is $2,400 ($16 per share), figured as follows.

1. Enter the total adjusted basis of all the shares you 

owned in the fund just before the sale. (If you made 

an earlier sale of shares in this fund, add the 

adjusted basis of any shares you still owned after 

the last sale and the adjusted basis of any shares 

you acquired after that sale.) .............. $4,800 

2. Enter the total number of shares you owned in the 

fund just before the sale ................. 300 

3. Divide the amount on line 1 by the amount on line 2. 

This is your average basis per share ........ $  16 

4. Enter the number of shares you sold ......... 150 

5. Multiply the amount on line 3 by the amount on 

line 4. This is the basis of the shares you sold . . $2,400 

Remaining shares. The average basis of the shares 

you still hold after a sale of some of your shares is the 

same as the average basis of the shares sold. The next 

time you make a sale, your average basis will still be the 

same, unless you have acquired additional shares (or 

have made a subsequent adjustment to basis).

Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1, 

except that you sold an additional 50 shares on December 

8, 2023. You do not need to refigure the average basis of 

the 150 shares you owned at that time because you acquired or sold no shares, and had no other adjustments to 

basis, since the last sale. Your basis is the $16 per share 

figured earlier.

Example 3. The facts are the same as in Example 1, 

except that you bought an additional 150 identical shares 

at $14 per share on September 8, 2023, and then sold 50 

shares on December 8, 2023. The total adjusted basis of 

all the shares you owned just before the sale is $4,500, 

figured as follows.

1. Basis of remaining shares ($16 x 150) ........ $2,400 

2. Cost of shares acquired on 9/8/2023 ($14 x 

150) ............................. $2,100 

3. Total adjusted basis of all shares owned ($2,400 + 

$2,100) ........................... $4,500 

The basis of the shares sold is $750 ($15 per share), figured as follows.

1. Enter the total adjusted basis of all the shares you 

owned in the fund just before the sale. (If you made 

an earlier sale of shares in this fund, add the 

adjusted basis of any shares you still owned after 

the last sale and the adjusted basis of any shares 

you acquired after that sale.) .............. $4,500 

2. Enter the total number of shares you owned in the 

fund just before the sale ................. 300 

3. Divide the amount on line 1 by the amount on line 2. 

This is your average basis per share ........ $  15 

4. Enter the number of shares you sold ......... 50 

5. Multiply the amount on line 3 by the amount on 

line 4. This is the basis of the shares you sold . . $ 750 

Shares received as gift. If your account includes 

shares that you received by gift, and the fair market value 

of the shares at the time of the gift was not more than the 

donor's basis, special rules apply. You cannot choose to 

use the average basis for the account unless you state in 

writing that you will treat the basis of the gift shares as the 

fair market value at the time you acquire the shares. You 

must provide this written statement when you make the 

election to use the average basis method, as described 

under Election of average basis method for covered securities and Election for average basis method for noncovered securities, earlier, or when you transfer the gift 

shares to an account for which you have made the average basis method election, whichever is later. The statement must be effective for any gift shares identical to the 

gift shares to which the average basis method election applies that you acquire at any time and must remain in effect as long as the election remains in effect.

When there is a sale, exchange, or redemption of 

your shares in a fund, keep the confirmation statement you receive. The statement shows the price 

you received for the shares and other information you 

need to report gain or loss on your return.

Nontaxable Trades

This section discusses trades that generally do not result 

in a taxable gain or a deductible loss. For more information on nontaxable trades, see chapter 1 of Pub. 544.

Like-Kind Exchanges

If you trade business or investment real property solely for 

other business or investment real property of a like kind, 

you do not pay tax on any gain or deduct any loss from the 

RECORDS

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 67
trade. To be nontaxable, a trade must meet all six of the 

following conditions.

1. The property must be business or investment property. You must hold both the property you trade and 

the property you receive for productive use in your 

trade or business or for investment. Neither property 

may be property used for personal purposes, such as 

your home or family car.

2. The property you trade and the property you receive 

must be real property.

3. There must be a trade of like-kind property. The trade 

of real estate for real estate is a trade of like-kind 

property. The trade of an apartment house for a store 

building is a trade of like-kind property. Real property 

located in the United States and real property located 

outside the United States are not like-kind property.

4. The property must not be held primarily for sale. The 

property you trade and the property you receive must 

not be property you sell to customers, such as merchandise.

5. The property to be received must be identified in writing within 45 days after the date you transfer the property given up in the trade. If you received the replacement property before the end of the 45-day period, 

you are automatically treated as having met the 

45-day written notice requirement.

6. The property to be received must be received by the 

earlier of:

a. The 180th day after the date on which you transfer 

the property given up in the trade; or

b. The due date, including extensions, for your tax return for the year in which the transfer of the property given up occurs.

If you trade property with a related party in a like-kind 

exchange, a special rule may apply. See Related Party 

Transactions, later in this chapter. Also, see chapter 1 of 

Pub. 544 for more information on exchanges of business 

property and special rules for exchanges using qualified 

intermediaries or involving multiple properties.

Transition rule for exchanges of personal or intangible property. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, section 

1031 only applies to exchanges of real property, other 

than real property held primarily for sale. Before enactment of the new tax law, section 1031 also applied to certain exchanges of personal or intangible property. A transition rule in the new law provides that section 1031 will still 

apply to a qualifying exchange of personal or intangible 

property if the taxpayer disposed of the exchanged property on or before December 31, 2017, or received replacement property on or before December 31, 2017.

Partly nontaxable exchange. If you receive money or 

property that is not like-kind property in addition to the 

Table 4-2. Example of How To Figure Basis of Shares Sold

This is an example showing two different ways to figure basis. It compares the cost basis using the FIFO method with the average basis method.

Date Action Share Price No. of Shares Total Shares Owned

2/10/2021 Invest $4,000 $25 160 160

8/11/2021 Invest $4,800 $20 240 400

12/15/2021 Reinvest $300 dividend $30 10 410

10/2/2023 Sell 210 shares for 

$6,720

$32 210 200

COST BASIS 

(FIFO)

To figure the basis of the 210 shares sold on 10/2/2023, use the share price of the first 210 shares you 

bought, namely the 160 shares you purchased on 2/10/2021 and 50 of those purchased on 8/11/2021.

$4,000 (cost of 160 shares on 2/10/2021)

+ $1,000 (cost of 50 shares on 8/11/2021)

Basis = $5,000

AVERAGE BASIS To figure the basis of the 210 shares sold on 10/2/2023, use the average basis of all 410 shares owned on 

10/2/2023.

$9,100 (cost of 410 shares)

÷ 410 (number of shares)

$22.20 (average basis per share)

$22.20

× 210

Basis = $4,662

68 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
like-kind property, and the preceding six conditions are 

met, you have a partly nontaxable trade. You are taxed on 

any gain you realize, but only up to the amount of the 

money and the fair market value of the property that is not 

like-kind you receive. You cannot deduct a loss.

Like-kind property and unlike property transferred. 

If you give up unlike property in addition to the like-kind 

property, you must recognize gain or loss on the unlike 

property you give up. The gain or loss is the difference between the adjusted basis of the unlike property and its fair 

market value.

Like-kind property and money transferred. If conditions (1)–(6) above are met, you have a nontaxable trade 

even if you pay money in addition to the like-kind property.

Basis of property received. You figure your basis in 

property received in a nontaxable or partly nontaxable 

trade as explained under Basis Other Than Cost, earlier.

How to report. You must report the trade of like-kind 

property on Form 8824. If you figure a recognized gain or 

loss on Form 8824, report it on Schedule D (Form 1040) 

or on Form 4797, whichever applies.

For information on using Form 4797, see chapter 4 of 

Pub. 544.

Corporate Stocks

The following trades of corporate stocks generally do not 

result in a taxable gain or a deductible loss.

Corporate reorganizations. In some instances, a company will give you common stock for preferred stock, preferred stock for common stock, or stock in one corporation 

for stock in another corporation. If this is a result of a 

merger, recapitalization, transfer to a controlled corporation, bankruptcy, corporate division, corporate acquisition, 

or other corporate reorganization, you do not recognize 

gain or loss.

Example 1. On April 11, 2023, KP1 Corporation was 

acquired by KP2 Corporation. You held 100 shares of KP1 

stock with a basis of $3,500. As a result of the acquisition, 

you received 70 shares of KP2 stock in exchange for your 

KP1 stock. You do not recognize gain or loss on the transaction. Your basis in the 70 shares of the new stock is still 

$3,500.

Example 2. On July 18, 2023, RGB Corporation divests itself of SFH Corporation. You hold 75 shares of 

RGB stock with a basis of $5,400. You receive 25 shares 

of SFH stock as a result of the spin-off. You do not recognize any gain or loss on the transaction. You receive information from RGB Corporation that your basis in SFH 

stock is equal to 10.9624% of your basis in RGB stock 

($5,400). Thus, your basis in SFH stock is $592. Your basis in RGB stock (after the spin-off) is $4,808 ($5,400 – 

$592).

Note. In the case of a distribution, the divesting corporation should send you information that includes details on 

how to allocate basis between the old and new stock. 

Keep this information until the period of limitations expires 

for the year in which you dispose of the stock in a taxable 

disposition. Usually, this is 3 years from the date the return 

was due or filed, or 2 years from the date the tax was paid, 

whichever is later.

Stock for stock of the same corporation. You can exchange common stock for common stock or preferred 

stock for preferred stock in the same corporation without 

having a recognized gain or loss. This is true for a trade 

between two stockholders as well as a trade between a 

stockholder and the corporation.

Money or other property received. If in an otherwise nontaxable trade you receive money or other property in addition to stock, then your gain on the trade, if any, 

is taxed, but only up to the amount of the money or other 

property. Any loss is not recognized.

If you received cash for fractional shares, see Fractional 

shares in chapter 1.

Nonqualified preferred stock. Nonqualified preferred 

stock is generally treated as property other than stock. 

Generally, this applies to preferred stock with one or more 

of the following features.

• The holder has the right to require the issuer or a related person to redeem or purchase the stock.

• The issuer or a related person is required to redeem or 

purchase the stock.

• The issuer or a related person has the right to redeem 

the stock, and on the issue date, it is more likely than 

not that the right will be exercised.

• The dividend rate on the stock varies with reference to 

interest rates, commodity prices, or similar indices.

For a detailed definition of nonqualified preferred stock, 

see section 351(g)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Convertible stocks and bonds. You will generally not 

have a recognized gain or loss if you convert bonds into 

stock or preferred stock into common stock of the same 

corporation according to a conversion privilege in the 

terms of the bond or the preferred stock certificate.

Example. In November, you bought for $1 a right issued by XYZ Corporation entitling you, on payment of 

$99, to subscribe to a bond issued by that corporation.

On December 5, you subscribed to the bond, which 

was issued on December 12. The bond contained a 

clause stating that you would receive one share of XYZ 

Corporation common stock on surrender of one bond and 

the payment of $50.

Later, you presented the bond and $50 and received 

one share of XYZ Corporation common stock. You did not 

have a recognized gain or loss. This is true whether the 

fair market value of the stock was more or less than $150 

on the date of the conversion.

The basis of your share of stock is $150 ($1 + $99 + 

$50). Your holding period is split. Your holding period for 

the part based on your ownership of the bond ($100 basis) begins on December 5. Your holding period for the 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 69
part based on your cash investment ($50 basis) begins on 

the day after you acquired the share of stock.

Bonds for stock of another corporation. Generally, if 

you convert the bonds of one corporation into common 

stock of another corporation, according to the terms of the 

bond issue, you must recognize gain or loss up to the difference between the fair market value of the stock received and the adjusted basis of the bonds exchanged. In 

some instances, however, such as trades that are part of 

mergers or other corporate reorganizations, you will have 

no recognized gain or loss if certain requirements are met. 

For more information about the tax consequences of converting securities of one corporation into common stock of 

another corporation, under circumstances such as those 

just described, consult the respective corporations and 

the terms of the bond issue. This information is also available on the prospectus of the bond issue.

Property for stock of a controlled corporation. If you 

transfer property to a corporation solely in exchange for 

stock in that corporation, and immediately after the trade 

you are in control of the corporation, you will ordinarily not 

recognize a gain or loss. This rule applies both to individuals and to groups who transfer property to a corporation. It 

does not apply if the corporation is an investment company.

If you are in a bankruptcy or a similar proceeding and 

you transfer property to a controlled corporation under a 

plan, other than a reorganization, you must recognize gain 

to the extent the stock you receive in the exchange is used 

to pay off your debts.

For this purpose, to be in control of a corporation, you 

or your group of transferors must own, immediately after 

the exchange, at least 80% of the total combined voting 

power of all classes of stock entitled to vote and at least 

80% of the outstanding shares of each class of nonvoting 

stock of the corporation.

If this provision applies to you, you may have to attach 

to your return a complete statement of all facts pertinent to 

the exchange. For details, see Regulations section 

1.351-3.

Money or other property received. If, in an otherwise nontaxable trade of property for corporate stock, you 

also receive money or property other than stock, you may 

have a taxable gain. However, you are taxed only up to the 

amount of money plus the fair market value of the other 

property you receive. The rules for figuring taxable gain in 

this situation generally follow those for a partly nontaxable 

exchange discussed earlier under Like-Kind Exchanges. If 

the property you give up includes depreciable property, 

the taxable gain may have to be reported as ordinary income because of depreciation. (See chapter 3 of Pub. 

544.) No loss is recognized.

Nonqualified preferred stock (described earlier under 

Stock for stock of the same corporation) received is generally treated as property other than stock.

Basis of stock or other property received. The basis of the stock you receive is generally the adjusted basis 

of the property you transfer. Increase this amount by any 

amount that was treated as a dividend, plus any gain recognized on the trade. Decrease this amount by any cash 

you received and the fair market value of any other property you received.

The basis of any other property you receive is its fair 

market value on the date of the trade.

Exchange of Shares in One Mutual 

Fund For Shares in Another Mutual 

Fund

Any exchange of shares in one fund for shares in another 

fund is a taxable exchange. This is true even if you exchange shares in one fund for shares in another fund 

within the same family of funds. Report any gain or loss on 

the shares you gave up as a capital gain or loss in the year 

in which the exchange occurs. Usually, you can add any 

service charge or fee paid in connection with an exchange 

to the cost of the shares acquired. For an exception, see 

Commissions and load charges, earlier.

Insurance Policies

and Annuities

You will not have a recognized gain or loss if the insured or 

annuitant is the same under both contracts and you trade:

• A life insurance contract for another life insurance contract or for an endowment or an annuity contract or for 

a qualified long-term care insurance contract,

• An endowment contract for another endowment contract that provides for regular payments beginning at a 

date no later than the beginning date under the old 

contract or for an annuity contract or for a qualified 

long-term insurance contract,

• An annuity contract for an annuity contract or for a 

qualified long-term care insurance contract, or

• A qualified long-term care insurance contract for a 

qualified long-term care insurance contract.

You may also not have to recognize gain or loss from an 

exchange of a portion of an annuity contract for another 

annuity contract. For transfers completed before October 

24, 2011, see Revenue Ruling 2003-76 and Revenue Procedure 2008-24 in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2008-13. 

Revenue Ruling 2003-76 is available at IRS.gov/irb/

2003-33_IRB#RR-2003-76. Revenue Procedure 2008-24 

is available at IRS.gov/irb/2008-13_IRB#RP-2008-24. For 

transfers completed on or after October 24, 2011, see 

Revenue Ruling 2003-76, above, and Revenue Procedure 

2011-38 in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2011-30. Revenue 

Procedure 2011-38 is available at IRS.gov/irb/

2011-30_IRB#RP-2011-38. For tax years beginning after 

2010, amounts received as an annuity for a period of 10 

years or more, or for the lives of one or more individuals, 

under any portion of an annuity, endowment, or life insurance contract, are treated as a separate contract and are 

considered partial annuities. A portion of an annuity, endowment, or life insurance contract may be annuitized, 

provided that the annuitization period is for 10 years or 

70 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
more or for the lives of one or more individuals. The investment in the contract is allocated between the part of the 

contract from which amounts are received as an annuity 

and the part of the contract from which amounts are not 

received as an annuity.

Exchanges of contracts not included in this list, such as 

an annuity contract for an endowment contract, or an annuity or endowment contract for a life insurance contract, 

are taxable.

Demutualization of Life

Insurance Companies

A life insurance company may change from a mutual company to a stock company. This is commonly called demutualization. If you were a policyholder or annuitant of the 

mutual company, you may have received either stock in 

the stock company or cash in exchange for your equity interest in the mutual company.

If the demutualization transaction qualifies as a tax-free 

reorganization under section 368(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, no gain or loss is recognized on the exchange. Your holding period for the new stock includes the 

period you held an equity interest in the mutual company 

as a policyholder or annuitant.

If the demutualization transaction does not qualify as a 

tax-free reorganization under section 368(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, you must recognize a capital gain 

or loss. Your holding period for the stock does not include 

the period you held an equity interest in the mutual company.

If you received cash in exchange for your equity interest, you must recognize a capital gain. If you held an 

equity interest for more than 1 year, your gain is long term.

U.S. Treasury

Notes or Bonds

You can trade certain issues of U.S. Treasury obligations 

for other issues, designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, with no gain or loss recognized on the trade.

See the discussion in chapter 1 under U.S. Treasury 

Bills, Notes, and Bonds for information about income from 

these investments.

Transfers Between Spouses

Generally, no gain or loss is recognized on a transfer of 

property from an individual to (or in trust for the benefit of) 

a spouse or, if incident to a divorce, a former spouse. This 

nonrecognition rule does not apply in the following situations.

• The recipient spouse or former spouse is a nonresident alien.

• Property is transferred in trust and liability exceeds basis. Gain must be recognized to the extent the amount 

of the liabilities assumed by the trust, plus any liabilities on the property, exceed the adjusted basis of the 

property.

• An installment obligation is transferred in trust. For information on the disposition of an installment obligation, see Pub. 537.

• Certain stock redemptions, which are taxable to a 

spouse under the tax law, a divorce or separation instrument, or a valid written agreement, discussed in 

Regulations section 1.1041-2.

Any transfer of property to a spouse or former spouse 

on which gain or loss is not recognized is treated by the 

recipient as a gift and is not considered a sale or exchange. The recipient's basis in the property will be the 

same as the adjusted basis of the giver immediately before the transfer. This carryover basis rule applies whether 

the adjusted basis of the transferred property is less than, 

equal to, or greater than either its fair market value at the 

time of transfer or any consideration paid by the recipient. 

This rule applies for purposes of determining loss as well 

as gain. Any gain recognized on a transfer in trust increases the basis.

A transfer of property is incident to a divorce if the 

transfer occurs within 1 year after the date on which the 

marriage ends, or if the transfer is related to the ending of 

the marriage. For more information, see Property Settlements in Pub. 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals. 

Related Party Transactions

Special rules apply to the sale or trade of property between related parties.

Gain on Sale or Trade

of Depreciable Property

Your gain from the sale or trade of property to a related 

party may be ordinary income, rather than capital gain, if 

the property can be depreciated by the party receiving it. 

See chapter 2 in Pub. 544 for more information.

Like-Kind Exchanges

Generally, if you trade business or investment real property for other business or investment real property of a like 

kind, no gain or loss is recognized. See Like-Kind Exchanges under Nontaxable Trades, earlier.

This rule also applies to trades of real property between 

related parties, defined next under Losses on Sales or 

Trades of Property. However, if either you or the related 

party disposes of the like-kind property within 2 years after 

the trade, you both must report any gain or loss not recognized on the original trade on your return for the year in 

which the later disposition occurs.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 71
This rule generally does not apply to:

• Dispositions due to the death of either related party,

• Involuntary conversions (see chapter 1 of Pub. 544), 

or

• Trades and later dispositions whose main purpose is 

not the avoidance of federal income tax.

If a property holder's risk of loss on the property is substantially diminished during any period, that period is not 

counted in determining whether the property was disposed of within 2 years. The property holder's risk of loss 

is substantially diminished by:

• The holding of a put on the property,

• The holding by another person of a right to acquire the 

property, or

• A short sale or any other transaction.

Losses on Sales or

Trades of Property

You cannot deduct a loss on the sale or trade of property, 

other than a distribution in complete liquidation of a corporation, if the transaction is directly or indirectly between 

you and the following related parties.

• Members of your family. This includes only your brothers and sisters, half-brothers and half-sisters, spouse, 

ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.), and lineal descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.).

• A partnership in which you directly or indirectly own 

more than 50% of the capital interest or the profits interest.

• A corporation in which you directly or indirectly own 

more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock (see 

Constructive ownership of stock, later).

• A tax-exempt charitable or educational organization 

directly or indirectly controlled, in any manner or by 

any method, by you or by a member of your family, 

whether or not this control is legally enforceable.

In addition, a loss on the sale or trade of property is not 

deductible if the transaction is directly or indirectly between the following related parties.

• A grantor and fiduciary, or the fiduciary and beneficiary, of any trust.

• Fiduciaries of two different trusts, or the fiduciary and 

beneficiary of two different trusts, if the same person is 

the grantor of both trusts.

• A trust fiduciary and a corporation of which more than 

50% in value of the outstanding stock is directly or indirectly owned by or for the trust, or by or for the grantor of the trust.

• A corporation and a partnership if the same persons 

own more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock 

of the corporation and more than 50% of the capital interest or the profits interest in the partnership.

• Two S corporations if the same persons own more 

than 50% in value of the outstanding stock of each 

corporation.

• Two corporations, one of which is an S corporation, if 

the same persons own more than 50% in value of the 

outstanding stock of each corporation.

• An executor and a beneficiary of an estate (except in 

the case of a sale or trade to satisfy a monetary bequest).

• Two corporations that are members of the same controlled group (under certain conditions, however, these 

losses are not disallowed but must be deferred).

• Two partnerships if the same persons own, directly or 

indirectly, more than 50% of the capital interests or the 

profit interests in both partnerships.

Multiple property sales or trades. If you sell or trade to 

a related party a number of blocks of stock or pieces of 

property in a lump sum, you must figure the gain or loss 

separately for each block of stock or piece of property. 

The gain on each item may be taxable. However, you cannot deduct the loss on any item. Also, you cannot reduce 

gains from the sales of any of these items by losses on the 

sales of any of the other items.

Indirect transactions. You cannot deduct your loss on 

the sale of stock through your broker if, under a prearranged plan, a related party buys the same stock you had 

owned. This does not apply to a trade between related 

parties through an exchange that is purely coincidental 

and is not prearranged.

Constructive ownership of stock. In determining 

whether a person directly or indirectly owns any of the outstanding stock of a corporation, the following rules apply.

Rule 1. Stock directly or indirectly owned by or for a 

corporation, partnership, estate, or trust is considered 

owned proportionately by or for its shareholders, partners, 

or beneficiaries.

Rule 2. An individual is considered to own the stock 

directly or indirectly owned by or for his or her family. Family includes only brothers and sisters, half-brothers and 

half-sisters, spouse, ancestors, and lineal descendants.

Rule 3. An individual owning, other than by applying 

rule 2, any stock in a corporation is considered to own the 

stock directly or indirectly owned by or for his or her partner.

Rule 4. When applying rule 1, 2, or 3, stock constructively owned by a person under rule 1 is treated as actually owned by that person. But stock constructively 

owned by an individual under rule 2 or rule 3 is not again 

treated as owned by that individual for applying either rule 

2 or rule 3 to make another person the constructive owner 

of the stock.

Property received from a related party. If you sell or 

trade at a gain property you acquired from a related party, 

you recognize the gain only to the extent that it is more 

72 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
than the loss previously disallowed to the related party. 

This rule applies only if you are the original transferee and 

you acquired the property by purchase or exchange. This 

rule does not apply if the related party's loss was disallowed because of the wash sale rules, described later under Wash Sales.

If you sell or trade at a loss property you acquired from 

a related party, you cannot recognize the loss that was not 

allowed to the related party.

Example 1. Your sibling sells you stock for $7,600. 

Your sibling’s cost basis is $10,000. Your sibling cannot 

deduct the loss of $2,400. Later, you sell the same stock 

to an unrelated party for $10,500, realizing a gain of 

$2,900. Your reportable gain is $500 (the $2,900 gain minus the $2,400 loss not allowed to your sibling).

Example 2. If, in Example 1, you sold the stock for 

$6,900 instead of $10,500, your recognized loss is only 

$700 (your $7,600 basis minus $6,900). You cannot deduct the loss that was not allowed to your sibling.

Capital Gains

and Losses

Terms you may need to know 

(see Glossary):

Call

Commodity future

Conversion transaction

Forward contract

Limited partner

Listed option

Nonequity option

Options dealer

Put

Regulated futures contract

Section 1256 contract

Straddle

Wash sale

This section discusses the tax treatment of gains and losses from different types of investment transactions.

Character of gain or loss. You need to classify your 

gains and losses as either ordinary or capital gains or losses. You then need to classify your capital gains and losses as either short term or long term. If you have long-term 

gains and losses, you must identify your 28% rate gains 

and losses. If you have a net capital gain, you must also 

identify any unrecaptured section 1250 gain.

The correct classification and identification helps you 

figure the limit on capital losses and the correct tax on 

capital gains. For information about determining whether 

your capital gain or loss is short term or long term, see 

Holding Period, later. For information about 28% rate gain 

or loss and unrecaptured section 1250 gain, see Capital 

Gain Tax Rates, later.

Capital or Ordinary

Gain or Loss

If you have a taxable gain or a deductible loss from a 

transaction, it may be either a capital gain or loss or an ordinary gain or loss, depending on the circumstances. 

Generally, a sale or trade of a capital asset (defined next) 

results in a capital gain or loss. A sale or trade of a noncapital asset generally results in ordinary gain or loss. Depending on the circumstances, a gain or loss on a sale or 

trade of property used in a trade or business may be treated as either capital or ordinary, as explained in Pub. 544. 

In some situations, part of your gain or loss may be a capital gain or loss, and part may be an ordinary gain or loss.

Capital Assets and

Noncapital Assets

For the most part, everything you own and use for personal purposes, pleasure, or investment is a capital asset. 

Some examples are:

• Stocks or bonds held in your personal account;

• A house owned and used by you and your family;

• Household furnishings;

• A car used for pleasure or commuting;

• Coin or stamp collections;

• Gems and jewelry; and

• Gold, silver, or any other metal.

Any property you own is a capital asset, except the following noncapital assets.

1. Property held mainly for sale to customers or property 

that will physically become a part of the merchandise 

for sale to customers. For an exception, see Capital 

asset treatment for self-created musical works, later.

2. Depreciable property used in your trade or business, 

even if fully depreciated.

3. Real property used in your trade or business.

4. A patent; invention, model, or design (whether or not 

patented); a secret formula or process; a copyright; a 

literary, musical, or artistic composition; a letter or 

memorandum; or similar property, held by:

a. A person whose personal efforts created such 

property;

b. In the case of a letter, memorandum, or similar 

property, a person for whom such property was 

prepared or produced; or

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 73
c. Acquired under circumstances (for example, by 

gift) entitling you to the basis of the person who 

created the property or for whom it was prepared 

or produced.

For an exception to this rule, see Capital asset 

treatment for self-created musical works, later.

5. Accounts or notes receivable acquired in the ordinary 

course of a trade or business for services rendered or 

from the sale of property described in (1).

6. U.S. Government publications, including the Congressional Record, that you received:

a. From the U.S. Government (or any governmental 

agency) for an amount other than the normal sales 

price, or

b. Under circumstances (such as by gift) that entitle 

you to the basis of someone who received the 

publication for an amount other than the normal 

sales price.

7. Certain commodities derivative financial instruments 

held by commodities derivatives dealers. For more information, see section 1221 of the Internal Revenue 

Code.

8. Hedging transactions, but only if the transaction is 

clearly identified as a hedging transaction before the 

close of the day on which it was acquired, originated, 

or entered into. For more information, see the definition of hedging transaction, earlier, and the discussion 

of hedging transactions under Commodity Futures, 

later.

9. Supplies of a type you regularly use or consume in the 

ordinary course of your trade or business.

Investment property. Investment property is a capital 

asset. Any gain or loss from its sale or trade is generally a 

capital gain or loss.

Gold, silver, stamps, coins, gems, etc. These are 

capital assets except when they are held for sale by a 

dealer. Any gain or loss from their sale or trade is generally a capital gain or loss.

Stocks, stock rights, and bonds. All of these, including stock received as a dividend, are capital assets except 

when they are held for sale by a securities dealer. However, see Losses on Section 1244 (Small Business) Stock 

and Losses on Small Business Investment Company 

Stock, later.

Personal use property. Property held for personal use 

only, rather than for investment, is a capital asset, and you 

must report a gain from its sale as a capital gain. However, 

you cannot deduct a loss from selling personal use property.

Capital asset treatment for self-created musical 

works. You can elect to treat musical compositions and 

copyrights in musical works as capital assets when you 

sell or exchange them if:

• Your personal efforts created the property, or

• You acquired the property under circumstances (for 

example, by gift) entitling you to the basis of the person who created the property or for whom it was prepared or produced.

You must make a separate election for each musical 

composition (or copyright in a musical work) sold or exchanged during the tax year. Make the election by the due 

date (including extensions) of the income tax return for the 

tax year of the sale or exchange. Make the election on 

Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040) by treating the 

sale or exchange as the sale or exchange of a capital asset, according to Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040) 

and their separate instructions.

You can revoke the election if you have IRS approval. 

To get IRS approval, you must submit a request for a letter 

ruling under the appropriate IRS revenue procedure. See, 

for example, Revenue Procedure 2020-1, available at 

IRS.gov/irb/2020-01_IRB#REV-PROC-2020-1. Alternatively, you are granted an automatic 6-month extension 

from the due date of your income tax return (excluding extensions) to revoke the election, provided you timely file 

your income tax return, and within this 6-month extension 

period, you file Form 1040-X that treats the sale or exchange as the sale or exchange of property that is not a 

capital asset.

Discounted Debt Instruments

Treat your gain or loss on the sale, redemption, or retirement of a bond or other debt instrument originally issued 

at a discount or bought at a discount as capital gain or 

loss, except as explained in the following discussions.

Short-term government obligations. Treat gains on 

short-term federal, state, or local government obligations 

(other than tax-exempt obligations) as ordinary income up 

to your ratable share of the acquisition discount. This 

treatment applies to obligations with a fixed maturity date 

of not more than 1 year from the date of issue. Acquisition 

discount is the stated redemption price at maturity minus 

your basis in the obligation.

However, do not treat these gains as income to the extent you previously included the discount in income. See 

Discount on Short-Term Obligations in chapter 1 for more 

information.

Short-term nongovernment obligations. Treat gains 

on short-term nongovernment obligations as ordinary income up to your ratable share of OID. This treatment applies to obligations with a fixed maturity date of not more 

than 1 year from the date of issue.

However, to the extent you previously included the discount in income, you do not have to include it in income 

again. See Discount on Short-Term Obligations in chapter 1 for more information.

Tax-exempt state and local government bonds. If 

these bonds were originally issued at a discount before 

74 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
September 4, 1982, or you acquired them before March 2, 

1984, treat your part of OID as tax-exempt interest. To figure your gain or loss on the sale or trade of these bonds, 

reduce the amount realized by your part of OID.

If the bonds were issued after September 3, 1982, and 

acquired after March 1, 1984, increase the adjusted basis 

by your part of OID to figure gain or loss. For more information on the basis of these bonds, see Discounted 

tax-exempt obligations, earlier in this chapter.

Any gain from market discount is usually taxable on disposition or redemption of tax-exempt bonds. If you bought 

the bonds before May 1, 1993, the gain from market discount is capital gain. If you bought the bonds after April 

30, 1993, the gain from market discount is ordinary income.

You figure market discount by subtracting the price you 

paid for the bond from the sum of the original issue price 

of the bond and the amount of accumulated OID from the 

date of issue that represented interest to any earlier holders. For more information, see Market Discount Bonds in 

chapter 1.

A loss on the sale or other disposition of a tax-exempt 

state or local government bond is deductible as a capital 

loss.

Redeemed before maturity. If a state or local bond 

issued before June 9, 1980, is redeemed before it matures, the OID is not taxable to you.

If a state or local bond issued after June 8, 1980, is redeemed before it matures, the part of OID earned while 

you hold the bond is not taxable to you. However, you 

must report the unearned part of OID as a capital gain.

Example. On July 2, 2012, the date of issue, you 

bought a 20-year, 6% municipal bond for $800. The face 

amount of the bond was $1,000. The $200 discount was 

OID. At the time the bond was issued, the issuer had no 

intention of redeeming it before it matured. The bond was 

callable at its face amount beginning 10 years after the issue date.

The issuer redeemed the bond at the end of 11 years 

(July 2, 2023) for its face amount of $1,000 plus accrued 

annual interest of $60. The OID earned during the time 

you held the bond, $73, is not taxable. The $60 accrued 

annual interest is also not taxable. However, you must report the unearned part of OID, $127 ($200 − $73), as a 

capital gain.

Long-term debt instruments issued after May 27, 

1969 (or after July 1, 1982, if a government instrument). If you hold one of these debt instruments, you 

must include a part of OID in your gross income each year 

you own the instrument. Your basis in that debt instrument 

is increased by the amount of OID that you have included 

in your gross income. See Original Issue Discount (OID) in 

chapter 1.

If you sell or trade the debt instrument before maturity, 

your gain is a capital gain. However, if at the time the instrument was originally issued there was an intention to 

call it before its maturity, your gain is generally ordinary income to the extent of the entire OID reduced by any 

amounts of OID previously includible in your income. In 

this case, the rest of the gain is capital gain.

An intention to call a debt instrument before maturity 

means there is a written or oral agreement or understanding not provided for in the debt instrument between the issuer and original holder that the issuer will redeem the 

debt instrument before maturity. In the case of debt instruments that are part of an issue, the agreement or understanding must be between the issuer and the original 

holders of a substantial amount of the debt instruments in 

the issue.

Example 1. On February 9, 2022, you bought at original issue for $7,600, Jones Corporation's 10-year, 5% 

bond which has a stated redemption price at maturity of 

$10,000. On February 13, 2023, you sold the bond for 

$9,040. Assume you have included $334 of OID in your 

gross income (including the amount accrued for 2023) 

and increased your basis in the bond by that amount. Your 

basis is now $7,934. If at the time of the original issue 

there was no intention to call the bond before maturity, 

your gain of $1,106 ($9,040 amount realized minus 

$7,934 adjusted basis) is capital gain.

Example 2. If, in Example 1, at the time of original issue there was an intention to call the bond before maturity, 

your entire gain is ordinary income. You figure this as follows:

1. Entire OID ($10,000 stated redemption price at 

maturity minus $7,600 issue price) .......... $2,400 

2. Minus: Amount previously included

in income .......................... 334

3. Maximum amount of ordinary income ......... $2,066

Because the amount in (3) is more than your gain of 

$1,106, your entire gain is ordinary income.

Market discount bonds. If the debt instrument has market discount and you chose to include the discount in income as it accrued, increase your basis in the debt instrument by the accrued discount to figure capital gain or loss 

on its disposition. If you did not choose to include the discount in income as it accrued, you must report gain as ordinary interest income up to the instrument's accrued market discount. See Market Discount Bonds in chapter 1. 

The rest of the gain is capital gain.

However, a different rule applies if you dispose of a 

market discount bond that was:

• Issued before July 19, 1984; and

• Purchased by you before May 1, 1993.

In that case, any gain is treated as interest income up to 

the amount of your deferred interest deduction for the year 

you dispose of the bond. The rest of the gain is capital 

gain. (The limit on the interest deduction for market discount bonds is discussed in chapter 3 under When To Deduct Investment Interest.)

Report the sale or trade of a market discount bond in 

Form 8949, Part I or Part II, whichever is appropriate. Use 

the table How To Complete Form 8949, Columns (f) and 

(g) in the Instructions for Form 8949 to help you figure the 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 75
amounts to report for a sale or trade of a market discount 

bond. Also report the amount of accrued market discount 

in column (g) as interest income on Schedule B (Form 

1040), line 1, and identify it as “Accrued Market Discount.”

Report your sales or trades of a market discount 

bond on Form 8949 with the correct box checked 

for these transactions. See Form 8949 and the Instructions for Form 8949.

Retirement of debt instrument. Any amount you receive on the retirement of a debt instrument is treated in 

the same way as if you had sold or traded that instrument.

Notes of individuals. If you hold an obligation of an individual issued with OID after March 1, 1984, you must generally include the OID in your income currently, and your 

gain or loss on its sale or retirement is generally capital 

gain or loss. An exception to this treatment applies if the 

obligation is a loan between individuals and all the following requirements are met.

• The lender is not in the business of lending money.

• The amount of the loan, plus the amount of any outstanding prior loans, is $10,000 or less.

• Avoiding federal tax is not one of the principal purposes of the loan.

If the exception applies, or the obligation was issued 

before March 2, 1984, you do not include the OID in your 

income currently. When you sell or redeem the obligation, 

the part of your gain that is not more than your accrued 

share of OID at that time is ordinary income. The rest of 

the gain, if any, is capital gain. Any loss on the sale or redemption is capital loss.

Bearer Obligations

You cannot deduct any loss on an obligation required to 

be in registered form that is instead held in bearer form. In 

addition, any gain on the sale or other disposition of the 

obligation is ordinary income. However, if the issuer was 

subject to a tax when the obligation was issued, then you 

can deduct any loss, and any gain may qualify for capital 

gain treatment.

Obligations required to be in registered form. Any 

obligation must be in registered form unless:

• It is issued by a natural person,

• It is not of a type offered to the public,

• It has a maturity at the date of issue of not more than 1 

year, or

• It was issued before 1983.

Deposit in Insolvent or

Bankrupt Financial Institution

If you lose money you have on deposit in a bank, credit 

union, or other financial institution that becomes insolvent 

TIP

or bankrupt, you may be able to deduct your loss in one of 

two ways.

• Casualty loss.

• Nonbusiness bad debt (short-term capital loss).

You can no longer claim any miscellaneous itemized deductions, including the deduction for an ordinary loss on deposits in insolvent or bankrupt financial institutions.

Casualty loss. If you can reasonably estimate your loss, 

you can treat the estimated loss as a casualty loss in the 

current year.

If you claim a casualty loss, attach Form 4684 to your 

return. Each loss must be reduced by $100. The amount 

of your casualty loss may be limited. See Pub. 547.

You cannot choose this method if:

• You own at least 1% of the financial institution,

• You are an officer of the institution, or

• You are related to such an owner or officer. You are related if you and the owner or officer are “related parties,” as defined earlier under Related Party Transactions, or if you are the aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece of 

the owner or officer.

If the actual loss that is finally determined is more than 

the amount you deducted as an estimated loss, you can 

claim the excess loss as a nonbusiness bad debt. If the 

actual loss is less than the amount deducted as an estimated loss, you must include in income (in the final determination year) the excess loss claimed. See Recoveries in 

Pub. 525.

Nonbusiness bad debt. If you do not choose to deduct 

your estimated loss as a casualty loss or an ordinary loss, 

you wait until the year the amount of the actual loss is determined and deduct it as a nonbusiness bad debt in that 

year. Report it as a short-term capital loss on Form 8949, 

Part I, line 1, as explained under How to report bad debts, 

later.

Sale of Annuity

The part of any gain on the sale of an annuity contract before its maturity date that is based on interest accumulated 

on the contract is ordinary income.

Conversion Transactions

Generally, all or part of a gain on a conversion transaction 

is treated as ordinary income. This applies to gain on the 

disposition or other termination of any position you held as 

part of a conversion transaction you entered into after 

April 30, 1993.

A conversion transaction is any transaction that meets 

both of these tests.

1. Substantially all of your expected return from the 

transaction is due to the time value of your net 

CAUTION

!

76 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
investment. In other words, the return on your investment is, in substance, like interest on a loan.

2. The transaction is one of the following.

a. A straddle as defined under Straddles, later, but 

including any set of offsetting positions on stock 

established before October 22, 2004.

b. Any transaction in which you acquire property 

(whether or not actively traded) at substantially the 

same time that you contract to sell the same property, or substantially identical property, at a price 

set in the contract.

c. Any other transaction that is marketed or sold as 

producing capital gains from a transaction described in (1).

Amount treated as ordinary income. The amount of 

gain treated as ordinary income is the smaller of:

• The gain recognized on the disposition or other termination of the position, or

• The “applicable imputed income amount.”

Applicable imputed income amount. Figure this 

amount as follows.

1. Figure the amount of interest that would have accrued 

on your net investment in the conversion transaction 

for the period ending on the earlier of:

a. The date you dispose of the position, or

b. The date the transaction stops being a conversion 

transaction.

To figure this amount, use an interest rate equal to 

120% of the “applicable rate,” defined later.

2. Subtract from (1) the amount treated as ordinary income from any earlier disposition or other termination 

of a position held as part of the same conversion 

transaction.

Applicable rate. If the term of the conversion transaction is indefinite, the applicable rate is the federal 

short-term rate in effect under section 6621(b) during the 

period of the conversion transaction, compounded daily.

In all other cases, the applicable rate is the “applicable 

federal rate” determined as if the conversion transaction 

were a debt instrument and compounded semiannually.

The rates discussed above are published by the IRS in 

the Internal Revenue Bulletin. The Internal Revenue Bulletin is available through IRS.gov. You can also find applicable federal rates in the Index of Applicable Federal Rates 

(AFRs) Rulings at https://apps.IRS.gov/app/picklist/list/

federalRates.html.

See chapter 5, How To Get Tax Help, for information on 

contacting the IRS.

Net investment. To determine your net investment in a 

conversion transaction, include the fair market value of 

any position at the time it becomes part of the transaction. 

This means your net investment will generally be the total 

amount you invested, less any amount you received for 

entering into the position (for example, a premium you received for writing a call).

Position with built-in loss. A special rule applies when 

a position with a built-in loss becomes part of a conversion 

transaction. A built-in loss is any loss you would have realized if you had disposed of or otherwise terminated the 

position at its fair market value at the time it became part 

of the conversion transaction.

When applying the conversion transaction rules to a 

position with a built-in loss, use the position's fair market 

value at the time it became part of the transaction. But, 

when you dispose of or otherwise terminate the position in 

a transaction in which you recognize gain or loss, you 

must recognize the built-in loss. The conversion transaction rules do not affect whether the built-in loss is treated 

as an ordinary or capital loss.

Netting rule for certain conversion transactions. Before determining the amount of gain treated as ordinary income, you can net certain gains and losses from positions 

of the same conversion transaction. To do this, you have 

to dispose of all the positions within a 14-day period that is 

within a single tax year. You cannot net the built-in loss 

against the gain.

You can net gains and losses only if you identify 

the conversion transaction as an identified netting 

transaction on your books and records. Each position of the conversion transaction must be identified before the end of the day on which the position becomes 

part of the conversion transaction. For conversion transactions entered into before February 20, 1996, this requirement is met if the identification was made by that date.

Options dealers and commodities traders. These 

rules do not apply to options dealers and commodities 

traders.

How to report. Use Form 6781 to report conversion 

transactions. See the instructions for lines 11 and 13 of 

Form 6781.

Commodity Futures

A commodity futures contract is a standardized, exchange-traded contract for the sale or purchase of a fixed 

amount of a commodity at a future date for a fixed price.

If the contract is a regulated futures contract, the rules 

described earlier under Section 1256 Contracts Marked to 

Market apply to it.

The termination of a commodity futures contract generally results in capital gain or loss unless the contract is a 

hedging transaction.

Hedging transaction. A futures contract that is a hedging transaction generally produces ordinary gain or loss. A 

futures contract is a hedging transaction if you enter into 

the contract in the ordinary course of your business primarily to manage the risk of interest rate or price changes 

or currency fluctuations on borrowings, ordinary property, 

RECORDS

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 77
or ordinary obligations. (Generally, ordinary property or 

obligations are those that cannot produce capital gain or 

loss under any circumstances.) For example, the offset or 

exercise of a futures contract that protects against price 

changes in your business inventory results in an ordinary 

gain or loss.

For more information about hedging transactions, see 

Regulations section 1.1221-2. Also, see Hedging Transactions under Section 1256 Contracts Marked to Market, 

earlier.

If you have multiple transactions in the commodity 

futures market during the year, the burden of proof 

is on you to show which transactions are hedging 

transactions. Clearly identify any hedging transactions on 

your books and records before the end of the day you entered into the transaction. It may be helpful to have separate brokerage accounts for your hedging and nonhedging 

transactions. For specific requirements concerning identification of hedging transactions and the underlying item, 

items, or aggregate risk being hedged, see Regulations 

section 1.1221-2(f).

Gains From Certain Constructive Ownership 

Transactions

If you have a gain from a constructive ownership transaction entered into after July 11, 1999, involving a financial 

asset (discussed later) and the gain would normally be 

treated as long-term capital gain, all or part of the gain 

may be treated instead as ordinary income. In addition, if 

any gain is treated as ordinary income, your tax is increased by an interest charge.

Constructive ownership transactions. The following 

are constructive ownership transactions.

• A notional principal contract in which you have the 

right to receive all or substantially all of the investment 

yield on a financial asset and you are obligated to reimburse all or substantially all of any decline in value 

of the financial asset.

• A forward or futures contract to acquire a financial asset.

• The holding of a call option and writing of a put option 

on a financial asset at substantially the same strike 

price and maturity date.

This provision does not apply if all the positions are 

marked to market. Marked-to-market rules for section 

1256 contracts are discussed in detail under Section 1256 

Contracts Marked to Market, earlier.

Financial asset. A financial asset, for this purpose, is 

any equity interest in a pass-through entity. Pass-through 

entities include partnerships, S corporations, trusts, regulated investment companies, and REITs.

Amount of ordinary income. Long-term capital gain is 

treated as ordinary income to the extent it is more than the 

net underlying long-term capital gain. The net underlying 

long-term capital gain is the net capital gain you would 

have realized if you acquired the asset for its fair market 

RECORDS

value on the date the constructive ownership transaction 

was opened and sold the asset for its fair market value on 

the date the transaction was closed. If you do not establish the amount of net underlying long-term capital gain by 

clear and convincing evidence, it is treated as zero.

More information. For more information about constructive ownership transactions, see section 1260 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Losses on Section 1244

(Small Business) Stock

Subject to the limitations discussed under Ordinary loss 

limit, later, you can deduct as an ordinary loss, rather than 

as a capital loss, a loss on the sale, trade, or worthlessness of section 1244 stock. Report the loss on Form 4797, 

line 10. Any loss in excess of the amounts described in 

Ordinary loss limit, later, should be reported on Form 

8949.

Any gain on section 1244 stock is a capital gain if the 

stock is a capital asset in your hands. Do not offset gains 

against losses that are within the ordinary loss limit, explained later in this discussion, even if the transactions are 

in stock of the same company. Report the gain on Form 

8949.

If you must figure a net operating loss, any ordinary loss 

from the sale of section 1244 stock is a business loss.

Ordinary loss limit. The amount you can deduct as an 

ordinary loss is limited to $50,000 each year. On a joint return, the limit is $100,000, even if only one spouse has this 

type of loss. If your loss is $110,000 and your spouse has 

no loss, you can deduct $100,000 as an ordinary loss on a 

joint return. The remaining $10,000 is a capital loss.

Section 1244 (small business) stock. This is stock issued for money or property (other than stock and securities) in a domestic small business corporation. During its 5 

most recent tax years before the loss, this corporation 

must have derived more than 50% of its gross receipts 

from other than royalties, rents, dividends, interest, annuities, and gains from sales and trades of stocks or securities. If the corporation was in existence for at least 1 year, 

but less than 5 years, the 50% test applies to the tax years 

ending before the loss. If the corporation was in existence 

less than 1 year, the 50% test applies to the entire period 

the corporation was in existence before the day of the 

loss. However, if the corporation's deductions (other than 

the net operating loss and dividends received deductions) 

were more than its gross income during this period, this 

50% test does not apply.

The corporation must have been largely an operating 

company for ordinary loss treatment to apply.

If the stock was issued before July 19, 1984, the stock 

must be common stock. If issued after July 18, 1984, the 

78 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
stock may be either common or preferred. For more information about the requirements of a small business corporation or the qualifications of section 1244 stock, see section 1244 of the Internal Revenue Code and its 

regulations.

The stock must be issued to the person taking the 

loss. You must be the original owner of the stock to be 

allowed ordinary loss treatment. To claim a deductible loss 

on stock issued to your partnership, you must have been a 

partner when the stock was issued and have remained so 

until the time of the loss. You add your distributive share of 

the partnership loss to any individual section 1244 stock 

loss you may have before applying the ordinary loss limit.

Stock distributed by partnership. If your partnership distributes the stock to you, you cannot treat any later 

loss on that stock as an ordinary loss.

Stock sold through underwriter. Stock sold through 

an underwriter is not section 1244 stock unless the underwriter only acted as a selling agent for the corporation.

Stock dividends and reorganizations. Stock you receive as a stock dividend qualifies as section 1244 stock 

if:

• You receive it from a small business corporation in 

which you own stock, and

• The stock you own meets the requirements when the 

stock dividend is distributed.

If you trade your section 1244 stock for new stock in the 

same corporation in a reorganization that qualifies as a recapitalization or that is only a change in identity, form, or 

place of organization, the new stock is section 1244 stock 

if the stock you trade meets the requirements when the 

trade occurs.

If you hold section 1244 stock and other stock in the 

same corporation, not all of the stock you receive as a 

stock dividend or in a reorganization will qualify as section 

1244 stock. Only that part based on the section 1244 

stock you hold will qualify.

Example. Your basis for 100 shares of X common 

stock is $1,000. These shares qualify as section 1244 

stock. If, as a nontaxable stock dividend, you receive 50 

more shares of common stock, the basis of which is determined from the 100 shares you own, the 50 shares are 

also section 1244 stock.

If you also own stock in the corporation that is not section 1244 stock when you receive the stock dividend, you 

must divide the shares you receive as a dividend between 

the section 1244 stock and the other stock. Only the 

shares from the former can be section 1244 stock.

Contributed property. To determine ordinary loss on 

section 1244 stock you receive in a trade for property, you 

have to reduce the basis of the stock if:

• The adjusted basis (for figuring loss) of the property, 

immediately before the trade, was more than its fair 

market value; and

• The basis of the stock is determined by the basis of 

the property.

Reduce the basis of the stock by the difference between 

the adjusted basis of the property and its fair market value 

at the time of the trade. You reduce the basis only to figure 

the ordinary loss. Do not reduce the basis of the stock for 

any other purpose.

Example. You transfer property with an adjusted basis 

of $1,000 and a fair market value of $250 to a corporation 

for its section 1244 stock. The basis of your stock is 

$1,000, but to figure the ordinary loss under these rules, 

the basis of your stock is $250 ($1,000 − $750). If you 

later sell the section 1244 stock for $200, your $800 loss 

is an ordinary loss of $50 and a capital loss of $750.

Contributions to capital. If the basis of your section 

1244 stock has increased, through contributions to capital 

or otherwise, you must treat this increase as applying to 

stock that is not section 1244 stock when you figure an ordinary loss on its sale.

Example. You buy 100 shares of section 1244 stock 

for $10,000. You are the original owner. You later make a 

$2,000 contribution to capital that increases the total basis 

of the 100 shares to $12,000. You then sell the 100 shares 

for $9,000 and have a loss of $3,000. You can deduct only 

$2,500 ($3,000 × $10,000/$12,000) as an ordinary loss 

under these rules. The remaining $500 is a capital loss.

Recordkeeping. You must keep records sufficient to show your stock qualifies as section 1244 

stock. Your records must also distinguish your 

section 1244 stock from any other stock you own in the 

corporation.

Losses on Small Business Investment 

Company Stock

A small business investment company (SBIC) is one that 

is licensed and operated under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.

If you are an investor in SBIC stock, you can deduct as 

an ordinary loss, rather than a capital loss, a loss from the 

sale, trade, or worthlessness of that stock. A gain from the 

sale or trade of that stock is a capital gain. Do not offset 

your gains and losses, even if they are on stock of the 

same company.

How to report. You report this type of ordinary loss on 

Form 4797, Part II, line 10. In addition to the information 

required by the form, you must include the name and address of the company that issued the stock. If applicable, 

also include the reason the stock is worthless and the approximate date it became worthless. Report a capital gain 

from the sale of SBIC stock on Form 8949.

Short sale. If you close a short sale of SBIC stock with 

other SBIC stock you bought only for that purpose, any 

loss you have on the sale is a capital loss. See Short 

Sales, later in this chapter, for more information.

RECORDS

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 79
Holding Period

If you sold or traded investment property, you must determine your holding period for the property. Your holding period determines whether any capital gain or loss was a 

short-term or a long-term capital gain or loss.

Long-term or short-term. If you hold investment property more than 1 year, any capital gain or loss is a 

long-term capital gain or loss. If you hold the property 1 

year or less, any capital gain or loss is a short-term capital 

gain or loss.

To determine how long you held the investment property, begin counting on the date after the day you acquired 

the property. The day you disposed of the property is part 

of your holding period.

Example. If you bought investment property on January 31, 2022, and sold it on January 28, 2023, your holding period is not more than 1 year and you have a 

short-term capital gain or loss. If you sold it on February 6, 

2023, your holding period is more than 1 year and you 

have a long-term capital gain or loss.

Securities traded on an established market. For securities traded on an established securities market, your 

holding period begins the day after the trade date you 

bought the securities, and ends on the trade date you sold 

them.

Do not confuse the trade date with the settlement 

date, which is the date by which the stock must be 

delivered and payment must be made.

Example. You are a cash method, calendar year taxpayer. You sold stock on December 31, 2023. According 

to the rules of the stock exchange, the sale was closed by 

delivery of the stock and payment of the sale price in January 2024. You received payment of the sale price on that 

same day. Report your gain or loss on your 2023 return, 

even though you received the payment in 2024. The gain 

or loss is long term or short term depending on whether 

you held the stock more than 1 year. Your holding period 

ended on December 31.

U.S. Treasury notes and bonds. The holding period of 

U.S. Treasury notes and bonds sold at auction on the basis of yield starts the day after the Secretary of the Treasury, through news releases, gives notification of acceptance to successful bidders. The holding period of U.S. 

Treasury notes and bonds sold through an offering on a 

subscription basis at a specified yield starts the day after 

the subscription is submitted.

Automatic investment service. In determining your 

holding period for shares bought by the bank or other 

agent, full shares are considered bought first and any fractional shares are considered bought last. Your holding period starts on the day after the bank's purchase date. If a 

share was bought over more than one purchase date, your 

holding period for that share is a split holding period. A 

part of the share is considered to have been bought on 

CAUTION

!

each date that stock was bought by the bank with the proceeds of available funds.

Nontaxable trades. If you acquire investment property in 

a trade for other investment property and your basis for 

the new property is determined, in whole or in part, by 

your basis in the old property, your holding period for the 

new property begins on the day following the date you acquired the old property.

Property received as a gift. If you receive a gift of property and your basis is determined by the donor's adjusted 

basis, your holding period is considered to have started on 

the same day the donor's holding period started.

If your basis is determined by the fair market value of 

the property, your holding period starts on the day after 

the date of the gift.

Inherited property. If you inherited property from someone who died before or after 2010, or from someone who 

died in 2010 and the executor of the decedent’s estate did 

not elect to file Form 8939, your capital gain or loss on any 

later disposition of that property is treated as long-term 

gain or loss, regardless of how long you held the property. 

If you acquired the property from someone who died in 

2010 and the executor made the election to file Form 

8939, see Revenue Procedure 2011-41 to determine your 

holding period. Revenue Procedure 2011-41 is available 

at IRS.gov/irb/2011-35_IRB#RP-2011-41. For additional 

information on the executor making the election see also 

Notice 2011-66, 2011-35 I.R.B. 184, available at 

IRS.gov/irb/2011-35_IRB#NOT-2011-66.

Real property bought. To figure how long you have 

held real property bought under an unconditional contract, 

begin counting on the day after you received title to it or on 

the day after you took possession of it and assumed the 

burdens and privileges of ownership, whichever happened 

first. However, taking delivery or possession of real property under an option agreement is not enough to start the 

holding period. The holding period cannot start until there 

is an actual contract of sale. The holding period of the 

seller cannot end before that time.

Real property repossessed. If you sell real property but 

keep a security interest in it, and then later repossess the 

property under the terms of the sales contract, your holding period for a later sale includes the period you held the 

property before the original sale and the period after the 

repossession. Your holding period does not include the 

time between the original sale and the repossession. That 

is, it does not include the period during which the first 

buyer held the property. However, the holding period for 

any improvements made by the first buyer begins at the 

time of repossession.

Stock dividends. The holding period for stock you received as a taxable stock dividend begins on the date of 

distribution.

The holding period for new stock you received as a 

nontaxable stock dividend begins on the same day as the 

holding period of the old stock. This rule also applies to 

80 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
stock acquired in a spin-off, which is a distribution of stock 

or securities in a controlled corporation.

Nontaxable stock rights. Your holding period for nontaxable stock rights includes the holding period of the underlying stock. The holding period for stock acquired 

through the exercise of stock rights begins on the date the 

right was exercised.

Section 1256 contracts. Gains or losses on section 

1256 contracts open at the end of the year, or terminated 

during the year, are treated as 60% long term and 40% 

short term, regardless of how long the contracts were 

held. See Section 1256 Contracts Marked to Market, earlier.

Option exercised. Your holding period for property you 

acquire when you exercise an option begins the day after 

you exercise the option.

Wash sales. Your holding period for substantially identical stock or securities you acquire in a wash sale includes 

the period you held the old stock or securities.

Qualified small business stock. Your holding period for 

stock you acquired in a tax-free rollover of gain from a sale 

of qualified small business stock, described later under 

Gains on Qualified Small Business Stock, includes the period you held the old stock.

Commodity futures. Your holding period for a commodity received in satisfaction of a commodity futures contract, other than a regulated futures contract subject to Internal Revenue Code section 1256, includes your holding 

period for the futures contract if you held the contract as a 

capital asset.

Securities futures contract. Your holding period for a 

security received in satisfaction of a securities futures contract, other than one that is a section 1256 contract, includes your holding period for the futures contract if you 

held the contract as a capital asset.

Your holding period for a security received in satisfaction of a securities futures contract to sell, other than one 

that is a section 1256 contract, is determined by the rules 

that apply to short sales, discussed later under Short 

Sales.

Loss on mutual fund or REIT stock held 6 months or 

less. If you hold stock in a mutual fund (or other regulated 

investment company) or REIT for 6 months or less and 

then sell it at a loss (other than under a periodic liquidation 

plan), special rules may apply.

Capital gain distributions received. The loss (after 

reduction for any exempt-interest dividends you received, 

as explained later) is treated as a long-term capital loss up 

to the total of any capital gain distributions you received 

and your share of any undistributed capital gains. Any remaining loss is short-term capital loss.

Reinvested distributions. If your dividends and capital 

gain distributions are reinvested in new shares, the holding period of each new share begins the day after that 

share was purchased. Therefore, if you sell both the new 

shares and the original shares, you might have both 

short-term and long-term gains and losses.

Example. On April 3, 2023, you bought a mutual fund 

share for $20. On June 16, 2023, the mutual fund paid a 

capital gain distribution of $2 per share, which is taxed as 

a long-term capital gain. On July 14, 2023, you sold the 

share for $17.50. If it were not for the capital gain distribution, your loss would be a short-term loss of $2.50 ($20 − 

$17.50). However, the part of the loss that is not more 

than the capital gain distribution ($2) must be reported as 

a long-term capital loss. The remaining $0.50 of the loss 

can be reported as a short-term capital loss.

Exempt-interest dividends on mutual fund stock. If 

you received exempt-interest dividends on the stock, at 

least part of your loss is disallowed. You can deduct only 

the amount of loss that is more than the exempt-interest 

dividends. Report the loss as a short-term capital loss. On 

Form 8949, Part I, line 1, column (d), increase the sales 

price by the amount of exempt-interest dividends, but do 

not increase it to more than the cost or other basis shown 

in column (e).

For more information on Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040), see the Instructions for Form 

8949 and the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 

1040).

Example. On January 10, 2023, you bought a mutual 

fund share for $40. On February 7, 2023, the mutual fund 

paid a $5 dividend from tax-exempt interest, which is not 

taxable to you. On February 14, 2023, you sold the share 

for $34. If it were not for the tax-exempt dividend, your loss 

would be $6 ($40 − $34). However, you must increase the 

sales price from $34 to $39 (to account for the $5 portion 

of the loss that is not deductible). You can deduct only $1 

as a short-term capital loss.

Loss on stock that paid qualified dividends. Any loss 

on the sale or trade of stock must be treated as a 

long-term capital loss to the extent you received, from that 

stock, qualified dividends (defined in chapter 1) that are 

extraordinary dividends. This is true regardless of how 

long you actually held the stock. Generally, an extraordinary dividend is a dividend that equals or exceeds 10% 

(5% in the case of preferred stock) of your adjusted basis 

in the stock.

Nonbusiness Bad Debts

If someone owes you money that you cannot collect, you 

have a bad debt. You may be able to deduct the amount 

owed to you when you figure your tax for the year the debt 

becomes worthless.

There are two kinds of bad debts—business and nonbusiness. A business bad debt, generally, is one that 

comes from operating your trade or business and is deductible as a business loss. All other bad debts are nonbusiness bad debts and are deductible as short-term capital losses.

TIP

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 81
Example. An architect made personal loans to several friends who were not clients. She could not collect on 

some of these loans. They are deductible only as nonbusiness bad debts because the architect was not in the business of lending money and the loans do not have any relationship to her business.

Business bad debts. For information on business bad 

debts of an employee, see Pub. 334, Tax Guide For Small 

Business (For Individuals Who Use Schedule C).

Deductible nonbusiness bad debts. To be deductible, 

nonbusiness bad debts must be totally worthless. You 

cannot deduct a partly worthless nonbusiness debt.

Genuine debt required. A debt must be genuine for 

you to deduct a loss. A debt is genuine if it arises from a 

debtor-creditor relationship based on a valid and enforceable obligation to repay a fixed or determinable sum of 

money.

Loan or gift. For a bad debt, you must show there 

was an intention at the time of the transaction to make a 

loan and not a gift. If you lend money to a relative or friend 

with the understanding that it may not be repaid, it is considered a gift and not a loan. You cannot take a bad debt 

deduction for a gift. There cannot be a bad debt unless 

there is a true creditor-debtor relationship between you 

and the person or organization that owes you the money.

When minor children borrow from their parents to pay 

for their basic needs, there is no genuine debt. A bad debt 

cannot be deducted for such a loan.

Basis in bad debt required. To deduct a bad debt, 

you must have a basis in it—that is, you must have already 

included the amount in your income or loaned out your 

cash. For example, you cannot claim a bad debt deduction for court-ordered child support not paid to you by your 

former spouse. If you are a cash method taxpayer (most 

individuals are), you generally cannot take a bad debt deduction for unpaid salaries, wages, rents, fees, interest, 

dividends, and similar items.

When deductible. You can take a bad debt deduction 

only in the year the debt becomes worthless. You do not 

have to wait until a debt is due to determine whether it is 

worthless. A debt becomes worthless when there is no 

longer any chance that the amount owed will be paid.

It is not necessary to go to court if you can show that a 

judgment from the court would be uncollectible. You must 

only show that you have taken reasonable steps to collect 

the debt. Bankruptcy of your debtor is generally good evidence of the worthlessness of at least a part of an unsecured and unpreferred debt.

If your bad debt is the loss of a deposit in a financial institution, see Deposit in Insolvent or Bankrupt Financial Institution, earlier.

Filing a claim for refund. If you do not deduct a bad 

debt on your original return for the year it becomes worthless, you can file a claim for a credit or refund due to the 

bad debt. To do this, use Form 1040-X to amend your return for the year the debt became worthless. You must file 

it within 7 years from the date your original return for that 

year had to be filed, or 2 years from the date you paid the 

tax, whichever is later. (Claims not due to bad debts or 

worthless securities must generally be filed within 3 years 

from the date a return is filed, or 2 years from the date the 

tax is paid, whichever is later.) For more information about 

filing a claim, see Pub. 556.

Loan guarantees. If you guarantee a debt that becomes 

worthless, you cannot take a bad debt deduction for your 

payments on the debt unless you can show either that 

your reason for making the guarantee was to protect your 

investment or that you entered the guarantee transaction 

with a profit motive. If you make the guarantee as a favor 

to friends and do not receive any consideration in return, 

your payments are considered a gift and you cannot take 

a deduction.

Example 1. Henry Lloyd, an officer and principal 

shareholder of the Spruce Corporation, guaranteed payment of a bank loan the corporation received. The corporation defaulted on the loan and Henry made full payment. 

Because Henry guaranteed the loan to protect his investment in the corporation, Henry can take a nonbusiness 

bad debt deduction.

Example 2. Milt and Pat are co-workers. Milt, as a favor to Pat, guarantees a note at their local credit union. Pat 

does not pay the note and declares bankruptcy. Milt pays 

off the note. However, since Milt did not enter into the 

guarantee agreement to protect an investment or to make 

a profit, Milt cannot take a bad debt deduction.

Deductible in year paid. Unless you have rights 

against the borrower, discussed next, a payment you 

make on a loan you guaranteed is deductible in the year 

you make the payment.

Rights against the borrower. When you make payment on a loan you guaranteed, you may have the right to 

take the place of the lender (the right of subrogation). The 

debt is then owed to you. If you have this right or some 

other right to demand payment from the borrower, you 

cannot take a bad debt deduction until these rights become totally worthless.

Debts owed by political parties. You cannot take a 

nonbusiness bad debt deduction for any worthless debt 

owed to you by:

• A political party;

• A national, state, or local committee of a political 

party; or

• A committee, association, or organization that either 

accepts contributions or spends money to influence 

elections.

Mechanics' and suppliers' liens. Workers and material 

suppliers may file liens against property because of debts 

owed by a builder or contractor. If you pay off the lien to 

avoid foreclosure and loss of your property, you are entitled to repayment from the builder or contractor. If the debt 

is uncollectible, you can take a bad debt deduction.

82 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
Insolvency of contractor. You can take a bad debt deduction for the amount you deposit with a contractor if the 

contractor becomes insolvent and you are unable to recover your deposit. If the deposit is for work unrelated to 

your trade or business, it is a nonbusiness bad debt deduction.

Secondary liability on home mortgage. If the buyer of 

your home assumes your mortgage, you may remain secondarily liable for repayment of the mortgage loan. If the 

buyer defaults on the loan and the house is then sold for 

less than the amount outstanding on the mortgage, you 

may have to make up the difference. You can take a bad 

debt deduction for the amount you pay to satisfy the mortgage if you cannot collect it from the buyer.

Worthless securities. If you own securities that become 

totally worthless, you can take a deduction for a loss, but 

not for a bad debt. See Worthless Securities under What 

Is a Sale or Trade, earlier in this chapter.

Recovery of a bad debt. If you deducted a bad debt 

and in a later tax year you recover (collect) all or part of it, 

you may have to include the amount you recover in your 

gross income. However, you can exclude from gross income the amount recovered up to the amount of the deduction that did not reduce your tax in the year deducted. 

See Recoveries in Pub. 525.

How to report bad debts. Deduct nonbusiness bad 

debts as short-term capital losses on Form 8949.

On Form 8949, Part I, line 1, enter the name of the 

debtor and “bad debt statement attached” in column (a). 

Enter your basis in the bad debt in column (e) and enter 

zero in column (d). Use a separate line for each bad debt.

Make sure you report your bad debt(s) (and any 

other short-term transactions for which you did 

not receive a Form 1099-B) on Form 8949 with 

box C checked.

For each bad debt, attach a statement to your return 

that contains:

• A description of the debt, including the amount, and 

the date it became due;

• The name of the debtor, and any business or family relationship between you and the debtor;

• The efforts you made to collect the debt; and

• Why you decided the debt was worthless. For example, you could show that the borrower has declared 

bankruptcy, or that legal action to collect would probably not result in payment of any part of the debt.

Short Sales

A short sale occurs when you agree to sell property you 

do not own (or own but do not wish to sell). You make this 

type of sale in two steps.

• You sell short. You borrow property and deliver it to a 

buyer.

CAUTION

!

• You close the sale. At a later date, you either buy substantially identical property and deliver it to the lender 

or make delivery out of property you held at the time of 

the sale. Delivery of property borrowed from another 

lender does not satisfy this requirement.

You do not realize gain or loss until delivery of property to 

close the short sale. You will have a capital gain or loss if 

the property used to close the short sale is a capital asset.

The Instructions for Form 1099-B discuss when you 

should receive a Form 1099-B for short sales. For more information, see the Instructions for Form 1099-B.

Reporting a short sale. Report any short sale on Form 

8949 in the year it closes. If a short sale closed in 2023 

but you did not get a Form 1099-B for it because you entered into it before 2011, report it on a Form 8949 in Part I 

or Part II (whichever applies). In column (a), enter (for example) “100 sh. XYZ Co. — 2010 short sale closed.” Fill in 

the other columns according to their instructions. Report 

the short sale the same way if you received a 2023 Form 

1099-B that does not show proceeds (sales price).

Exception if property becomes worthless. A different 

rule applies if the property sold short becomes substantially worthless. In that case, you must recognize gain as if 

the short sale were closed when the property became 

substantially worthless.

Exception for constructive sales. Entering into a short 

sale may cause you to be treated as having made a constructive sale of property. In that case, you will have to recognize gain on the date of the constructive sale. For details, see Constructive Sales of Appreciated Financial 

Positions, earlier.

Example. On May 5, 2023, you bought 100 shares of 

Baker Corporation stock for $1,000. On September 8, 

2023, you sold short 100 shares of similar Baker stock for 

$1,600. You made no other transactions involving Baker 

stock for the rest of 2023 and the first 30 days of 2024. 

Your short sale is treated as a constructive sale of an appreciated financial position because a sale of your Baker 

stock on the date of the short sale would have resulted in 

a gain. You recognize a $600 short-term capital gain from 

the constructive sale and your new holding period in the 

Baker stock begins on September 8.

Short-Term or Long-Term

Capital Gain or Loss

As a general rule, you determine whether you have 

short-term or long-term capital gain or loss on a short sale 

by the amount of time you actually hold the property eventually delivered to the lender to close the short sale.

Example. Even though you do not own any stock of 

Ace Corporation, you contract to sell 100 shares of it, 

which you borrow from your broker. After 13 months, when 

the price of the stock has risen, you buy 100 shares of Ace 

Corporation stock and immediately deliver them to your 

broker to close out the short sale. Your loss is a short-term 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 83
capital loss because your holding period for the delivered 

property is less than 1 day.

Special rules. Special rules may apply to gains and losses from short sales of stocks, securities, and commodity 

and securities futures (other than certain straddles) if you 

held or acquired property substantially identical to property that sold short. But if the amount of property you sold 

short is more than the amount of that substantially identical property, the special rules do not apply to the gain or 

loss on the excess.

Gains and holding period. If you held the substantially identical property for 1 year or less on the date of the 

short sale, or if you acquired the substantially identical 

property after the short sale and by the date of closing the 

short sale, then:

Rule 1. Your gain, if any, when you close the short sale 

is a short-term capital gain; and

Rule 2. The holding period of the substantially identical property begins on the date of the closing of the 

short sale or on the date of the sale of this property, 

whichever comes first.

Losses. If, on the date of the short sale, you held substantially identical property for more than 1 year, any loss 

you realize on the short sale is a long-term capital loss, 

even if you held the property used to close the sale for 1 

year or less. Certain losses on short sales of stock or securities are also subject to wash sale treatment. For information, see Wash Sales, later.

Mixed straddles. Under certain elections, you can 

avoid the treatment of loss from a short sale as long term 

under the special rule. These elections are for positions 

that are part of a mixed straddle. See Other elections, 

later, for more information about these elections.

Reporting Substitute Payments

If any broker transferred your securities for use in a short 

sale or similar transaction and received certain substitute 

dividend payments on your behalf while the short sale was 

open, that broker must give you a Form 1099-MISC or a 

similar statement reporting the amount of these payments. 

Form 1099-MISC must be used for those substitute payments totaling $10 or more that are known on the payment's record date to be in lieu of an exempt-interest dividend, a capital gain dividend, a return of capital 

distribution, or a dividend subject to a foreign tax credit, or 

that are in lieu of tax-exempt interest. Do not treat these 

substitute payments as dividends or interest. Instead, report the substitute payments shown on Form 1099-MISC 

as “Other income” on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z.

Substitute payment. A substitute payment means a 

payment in lieu of:

• Tax-exempt interest (including OID) accrued while the 

short sale was open; and

• A dividend, if the ex-dividend date is after the transfer 

of stock for use in a short sale and before the closing 

of the short sale.

Payments in lieu of dividends. If you borrow stock to 

make a short sale, you may have to remit to the lender 

payments in lieu of the dividends distributed while you 

maintain your short position. You can deduct these payments only if you hold the short sale open at least 46 days 

(more than 1 year in the case of an extraordinary dividend, 

as defined later) and you itemize your deductions.

You deduct these payments as investment interest on 

Schedule A (Form 1040). See Interest Expenses in chapter 3 for more information.

If you close the short sale by the 45th day after the date 

of the short sale (1 year or less in the case of an extraordinary dividend), you cannot deduct the payment in lieu of 

the dividend you make to the lender. Instead, you must increase the basis of the stock used to close the short sale 

by that amount.

To determine how long a short sale is kept open, do not 

include any period during which you hold, have an option 

to buy, or are under a contractual obligation to buy substantially identical stock or securities.

If your payment is made for a liquidating distribution or 

nontaxable stock distribution, or if you buy more shares 

equal to a stock distribution issued on the borrowed stock 

during your short position, you have a capital expense. 

You must add the payment to the cost of the stock sold 

short.

Exception. If you close the short sale within 45 days, 

the deduction for amounts you pay in lieu of dividends will 

be disallowed only to the extent the payments are more 

than the amount you receive as ordinary income from the 

lender of the stock for the use of collateral with the short 

sale. This exception does not apply to payments in place 

of extraordinary dividends.

Extraordinary dividends. If the amount of any dividend 

you receive on a share of preferred stock equals or exceeds 5% (10% in the case of other stock) of the amount 

realized on the short sale, the dividend you receive is an 

extraordinary dividend.

Wash Sales

You cannot deduct losses from sales or trades of stock or 

securities in a wash sale unless the loss was incurred in 

the ordinary course of your business as a dealer in stock 

or securities.

A wash sale occurs when you sell or trade stock or securities at a loss and within 30 days before or after the 

sale you:

1. Buy substantially identical stock or securities,

2. Acquire substantially identical stock or securities in a 

fully taxable trade,

3. Acquire a contract or option to buy substantially identical stock or securities, or

84 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
4. Acquire substantially identical stock for your individual 

retirement arrangement (IRA) or Roth IRA.

If you sell stock and your spouse or a corporation you control buys substantially identical stock, you also have a 

wash sale.

If your loss was disallowed because of the wash sale 

rules, add the disallowed loss to the cost of the new stock 

or securities (except in (4) above). The result is your basis 

in the new stock or securities. This adjustment postpones 

the loss deduction until the disposition of the new stock or 

securities. Your holding period for the new stock or securities includes the holding period of the stock or securities 

sold.

Example 1. You buy 100 shares of X stock for $1,000. 

You sell these shares for $750 and within 30 days from the 

sale you buy 100 shares of the same stock for $800. Because you bought substantially identical stock, you cannot 

deduct your loss of $250 on the sale. However, you add 

the disallowed loss of $250 to the cost of the new stock, 

$800, to obtain your basis in the new stock, which is 

$1,050.

Example 2. You are an employee of a corporation 

with an incentive pay plan. Under this plan, you are given 

10 shares of the corporation's stock as a bonus award. 

You include the fair market value of the stock in your gross 

income as additional pay. You later sell these shares at a 

loss. If you receive another bonus award of substantially 

identical stock within 30 days of the sale, you cannot deduct your loss on the sale.

Options and futures contracts. The wash sale rules apply to losses from sales or trades of contracts and options 

to acquire or sell stock or securities. They do not apply to 

losses from sales or trades of commodity futures contracts and foreign currencies. See Coordination of Loss 

Deferral Rules and Wash Sale Rules, later, for information 

about the tax treatment of losses on the disposition of positions in a straddle.

Securities futures contract to sell. Losses from the 

sale, exchange, or termination of a securities futures contract to sell are generally treated in the same manner as 

losses from the closing of a short sale, discussed later in 

this section under Short sales.

Warrants. The wash sale rules apply if you sell common stock at a loss and, at the same time, buy warrants 

for common stock of the same corporation. But if you sell 

warrants at a loss and, at the same time, buy common 

stock in the same corporation, the wash sale rules apply 

only if the warrants and stock are considered substantially 

identical, as discussed next.

Substantially identical. In determining whether stock or 

securities are substantially identical, you must consider all 

the facts and circumstances in your particular case. Ordinarily, stocks or securities of one corporation are not considered substantially identical to stocks or securities of another corporation. However, they may be substantially 

identical in some cases. For example, in a reorganization, 

the stocks and securities of the predecessor and successor corporations may be substantially identical.

Similarly, bonds or preferred stock of a corporation are 

not ordinarily considered substantially identical to the 

common stock of the same corporation. However, where 

the bonds or preferred stock are convertible into common 

stock of the same corporation, the relative values, price 

changes, and other circumstances may make these 

bonds or preferred stock and the common stock substantially identical. For example, preferred stock is substantially identical to the common stock if the preferred stock:

• Is convertible into common stock,

• Has the same voting rights as the common stock,

• Is subject to the same dividend restrictions,

• Trades at prices that do not vary significantly from the 

conversion ratio, and

• Is unrestricted as to convertibility.

More or less stock bought than sold. If the number of 

shares of substantially identical stock or securities you 

buy within 30 days before or after the sale is either more or 

less than the number of shares you sold, you must determine the particular shares to which the wash sale rules 

apply. You do this by matching the shares bought with an 

equal number of the shares sold. Match the shares bought 

in the same order that you bought them, beginning with 

the first shares bought. The shares or securities so 

matched are subject to the wash sale rules.

Example 1. You bought 100 shares of M stock on 

September 20, 2022, for $5,000. On December 13, 2022, 

you bought 50 shares of substantially identical stock for 

$2,750. On December 20, 2022, you bought 25 shares of 

substantially identical stock for $1,125. On January 3, 

2023, you sold for $4,000 the 100 shares you bought in 

September. You have a $1,000 loss on the sale. However, 

because you bought 75 shares of substantially identical 

stock within 30 days before the sale, you cannot deduct 

the loss ($750) on 75 shares. You can deduct the loss 

($250) on the other 25 shares. The basis of the 50 shares 

bought on December 13, 2022, is increased by two-thirds 

(50 ÷ 75) of the $750 disallowed loss. The new basis of 

those shares is $3,250 ($2,750 + $500). The basis of the 

25 shares bought on December 20, 2022, is increased by 

the rest of the loss to $1,375 ($1,125 + $250).

Example 2. You bought 100 shares of M stock on 

September 16, 2022. On January 27, 2023, you sold 

those shares at a $1,000 loss. On each of the 4 days from 

February 1, 2023, to February 4, 2023, you bought 50 

shares of substantially identical stock. You cannot deduct 

your $1,000 loss. You must add half the disallowed loss 

($500) to the basis of the 50 shares bought on February 1. 

Add the other half ($500) to the basis of the shares bought 

on February 2.

Loss and gain on same day. Loss from a wash sale of 

one block of stock or securities cannot be used to reduce 

any gains on identical blocks sold the same day.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 85
Example. During 2017, you bought 100 shares of X 

stock on each of three occasions. You paid $158 per 

share for the first block of 100 shares, $100 per share for 

the second block, and $95 per share for the third block. 

On December 27, 2022, you sold 300 shares of X stock 

for $125 per share. On January 10, 2023, you bought 250 

shares of identical X stock. You cannot deduct the loss of 

$33 per share on the first block because within 30 days after the date of sale you bought 250 identical shares of X 

stock. In addition, you cannot reduce the gain realized on 

the sale of the second and third blocks of stock by this 

loss.

Dealers. The wash sale rules do not apply to a dealer in 

stock or securities if the loss is from a transaction made in 

the ordinary course of business.

Short sales. The wash sale rules apply to a loss realized 

on a short sale if you sell, or enter into another short sale 

of, substantially identical stock or securities within a period beginning 30 days before the date the short sale is 

complete and ending 30 days after that date.

For purposes of the wash sale rules, a short sale is considered complete on the date the short sale is entered into 

if:

• On that date, you own stock or securities identical to 

those sold short (or by that date you enter into a contract or option to acquire that stock or those securities); and

• You later deliver the stock or securities to close the 

short sale.

Otherwise, a short sale is not considered complete until 

the property is delivered to close the sale.

This treatment also applies to losses from the sale, exchange, or termination of a securities futures contract to 

sell.

Example. On June 4, you buy 100 shares of stock for 

$1,000. You sell short 100 shares of the stock for $750 on 

October 15. On October 16, you buy 100 shares of the 

same stock for $750. You close the short sale on November 19 by delivering the shares bought on June 4. You 

cannot deduct the $250 loss ($1,000 − $750) because the 

date of entering into the short sale (October 15) is considered the date the sale is complete for wash sale purposes 

and you bought substantially identical stock within 30 days 

from that date.

Residual interests in a real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC). The wash sale rules will generally apply to the sale of your residual interest in a REMIC 

if, during the period beginning 6 months before the sale of 

the interest and ending 6 months after that sale, you acquire any residual interest in any REMIC or any interest in 

a taxable mortgage pool that is comparable to a residual 

interest. REMICs are discussed in chapter 1.

Nondeductible wash sale loss. If you received a Form 

1099-B, box 1g will show the amount of wash sale loss 

disallowed if:

• The stock or securities sold were covered securities, 

and

• The substantially identical stock or securities you 

bought had the same CUSIP numbers as the stock or 

securities you sold and were bought in the same account as the stock or securities you sold.

However, you cannot deduct a loss from a wash sale 

even if it is not reported on Form 1099-B.

How to report. Report a wash sale transaction in Part I 

or Part II of Form 8949 with the appropriate box checked. 

Complete all columns. Enter “W” in column (f). Enter as a 

positive number in column (g) the amount of the loss not 

allowed. See the Instructions for Form 8949.

Securities Futures Contracts

A securities futures contract is a contract of sale for future 

delivery of a single security or of a narrow-based security 

index.

Gain or loss from the contract will generally be treated 

in a manner similar to gain or loss from transactions in the 

underlying security. This means gain or loss from the sale, 

exchange, or termination of the contract will generally 

have the same character as gain or loss from transactions 

in the property to which the contract relates. Any capital 

gain or loss on a sale, exchange, or termination of a contract to sell property will be considered short term, regardless of how long you hold the contract. These contracts 

are not section 1256 contracts (unless they are dealer securities futures contracts).

Options

Options are generally subject to the rules described in this 

section. If the option is part of a straddle, the Loss Deferral 

Rules covered later under Straddles may also apply. For 

special rules that apply to nonequity options and dealer 

equity options, see Section 1256 Contracts Marked to 

Market, earlier.

Gain or loss from the sale or trade of an option to buy or 

sell property that is a capital asset in your hands, or would 

be if you acquired it, is capital gain or loss. If the property 

is not or would not be a capital asset, the gain or loss is 

ordinary gain or loss.

Example 1. You purchased an option to buy 100 

shares of XYZ Company stock. The stock increases in 

value, and you sell the option for more than you paid for it. 

Your gain is capital gain because the stock underlying the 

option would have been a capital asset in your hands.

Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1, 

except the stock decreases in value and you sell the option for less than you paid for it. Your loss is a capital loss.

86 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
Option not exercised. If you have a loss because you 

did not exercise an option to buy or sell, you are considered to have sold or traded the option on the date it expired.

Writer of option. If you write (grant) an option, how you 

report your gain or loss depends on whether it was exercised.

If you are not in the business of writing options and an 

option you write on stocks, securities, commodities, or 

commodity futures is not exercised (or repurchased), the 

amount you receive is a short-term capital gain.

If an option requiring you to buy or sell property is exercised, see Writers of puts and calls, later.

Section 1256 contract options. Gain or loss is recognized on the exercise of an option on a section 1256 contract. Section 1256 contracts are defined under Section 

1256 Contracts Marked to Market, earlier.

Cash settlement option. A cash settlement option is 

treated as an option to buy or sell property. A cash settlement option is any option that on exercise is settled in, or 

could be settled in, cash or property other than the underlying property.

How to report. Report on Form 8949 gain or loss from 

the closing or expiration of an option that is not a section 

1256 contract but is a capital asset in your hands. If an option you purchased expired, enter the expiration date in 

column (c) and enter “Expired” in column (d). If an option 

that was granted (written) expired, enter the expiration 

date in column (b) and enter “Expired” in column (e). Fill in 

the other columns as appropriate.

If a call option you sold was exercised and the option 

premium you received was not reflected in the sales price 

shown on the Form 1099-B you received, enter the premium as a positive number in column (g) of Form 8949 

and enter “E” in column (f).

Puts and Calls

Puts and calls are options on securities and are covered 

by the rules just discussed for options. The following are 

specific applications of these rules to holders and writers 

of options that are bought, sold, or “closed out” in transactions on a national securities exchange, such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange. (But see Section 1256 

Contracts Marked to Market, earlier, for special rules that 

may apply to nonequity options and dealer equity options.) These rules are also presented in Table 4-3.

Puts and calls are issued by writers (grantors) to holders for cash premiums. They are ended by exercise, closing transaction, or lapse.

A “put option” is the right to sell to the writer, at any time 

before a specified future date, a stated number of shares 

at a specified price. Conversely, a “call option” is the right 

to buy from the writer of the option, at any time before a 

specified future date, a stated number of shares of stock 

at a specified price.

Holders of puts and calls. If you buy a put or a call, you 

may not deduct its cost. It is a capital expenditure.

If you sell the put or the call before you exercise it, the 

difference between its cost and the amount you receive for 

it is either a long-term or short-term capital gain or loss, 

depending on how long you held it.

If the option expires, its cost is either a long-term or 

short-term capital loss, depending on your holding period, 

which ends on the expiration date.

If you exercise a call, add its cost to the basis of the 

stock you bought. If you exercise a put, reduce your 

amount realized on the sale of the underlying stock by the 

cost of the put when figuring your gain or loss. Any gain or 

loss on the sale of the underlying stock is long term or 

short term depending on your holding period for the underlying stock.

Put option as short sale. Buying a put option is generally treated as a short sale, and the exercise, sale, or expiration of the put is a closing of the short sale. See Short 

Sales, earlier. If you have held the underlying stock for 1 

year or less at the time you buy the put, any gain on the 

exercise, sale, or expiration of the put is a short-term capital gain. The same is true if you buy the underlying stock 

after you buy the put but before its exercise, sale, or expiration. Your holding period for the underlying stock begins 

on the earliest of:

• The date you dispose of the stock,

• The date you exercise the put,

• The date you sell the put, or

• The date the put expires.

Writers of puts and calls. If you write (grant) a put or a 

call, do not include the amount you receive for writing it in 

your income at the time of receipt. Carry it in a deferred 

account until:

• Your obligation expires;

• You buy, in the case of a put, or sell, in the case of a 

call, the underlying stock when the option is exercised; 

or

• You engage in a closing transaction.

If your obligation expires, the amount you received for 

writing the call or put is short-term capital gain.

If a put you write is exercised and you buy the underlying stock, decrease your basis in the stock by the amount 

you received for the put. Your holding period for the stock 

begins on the date you buy it, not on the date you wrote 

the put.

If a call you write is exercised and you sell the underlying stock, increase your amount realized on the sale of the 

stock by the amount you received for the call when figuring your gain or loss. The gain or loss is long term or short 

term depending on your holding period of the stock.

If you enter into a closing transaction by paying an 

amount equal to the value of the put or call at the time of 

the payment, the difference between the amount you pay 

and the amount you receive for the put or call is a 

short-term capital gain or loss.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 87
Examples of nondealer transactions. 

1. Expiration. Ten JJJ call options were issued on April 

7, 2023, for $4,000. These equity options expired in 

December 2023 without being exercised. If you were 

a holder (buyer) of the options, you would recognize a 

short-term capital loss of $4,000. If you were a writer 

of the options, you would recognize a short-term capital gain of $4,000.

2. Closing transaction. The facts are the same as in 

(1), except that on May 5, 2023, the options were sold 

for $6,000. If you were the holder of the options who 

sold them, you would recognize a short-term capital 

gain of $2,000. If you were the writer of the options 

and you bought them back, you would recognize a 

short-term capital loss of $2,000.

3. Exercise. The facts are the same as in (1), except 

that the options were exercised on May 19, 2023. The 

buyer adds the cost of the options to the basis of the 

stock bought through the exercise of the options. The 

writer adds the amount received from writing the options to the amount realized from selling the stock to 

figure gain or loss. The gain or loss is short term or 

long term depending upon the holding period of the 

stock.

4. Section 1256 contracts. The facts are the same as 

in (1), except the options were nonequity options, subject to the rules for section 1256 contracts. If you were 

a buyer of the options, you would recognize a 

short-term capital loss of $1,600, and a long-term 

capital loss of $2,400. If you were a writer of the options, you would recognize a short-term capital gain of 

$1,600, and a long-term capital gain of $2,400. See 

Section 1256 Contracts Marked to Market, earlier, for 

more information.

Straddles

This section discusses the loss deferral rules that apply to 

the sale or other disposition of positions in a straddle. 

These rules do not apply to the straddles described under 

Exceptions, later.

A straddle is any set of offsetting positions on personal 

property. For example, a straddle may consist of a purchased option to buy and a purchased option to sell on 

the same number of shares of the security, with the same 

exercise price and period.

Personal property. This is any actively traded property. 

It includes stock options and contracts to buy stock but 

generally does not include stock.

Straddle rules for stock. Although stock is generally 

excluded from the definition of personal property when applying the straddle rules, it is included in the following two 

situations.

1. The stock is of a type that is actively traded, and at 

least one of the offsetting positions is a position on 

that stock or substantially similar or related property.

2. The stock is in a corporation formed or availed of to 

take positions in personal property that offset positions taken by any shareholder.

Puts and Calls

Puts

When a put: If you are the holder: If you are the writer:

Is exercised Reduce your amount realized from the sale of the 

underlying stock by the cost of the put.

Reduce your basis in the stock you buy by the amount 

you received for the put.

Expires Report the cost of the put as a capital loss on the date it 

expires.*

Report the amount you received for the put as a 

short-term capital gain.

Is sold by the holder Report the difference between the cost of the put and the 

amount you receive for it as a capital gain or loss.*

This does not affect you. (But if you buy back the put, 

report the difference between the amount you pay and 

the amount you received for the put as a short-term 

capital gain or loss.)

Calls

When a call: If you are the holder: If you are the writer:

Is exercised Add the cost of the call to your basis in the stock 

purchased.

Increase your amount realized on sale of the stock by the 

amount you received for the call.

Expires Report the cost of the call as a capital loss on the date it 

expires.*

Report the amount you received for the call as a 

short-term capital gain.

Is sold by the holder Report the difference between the cost of the call and the 

amount you receive for it as a capital gain or loss.*

This does not affect you. (But if you buy back the call, 

report the difference between the amount you pay and 

the amount you received for the call as a short-term 

capital gain or loss.)

* See Holders of puts and calls and Writers of puts and calls in the accompanying text to find whether your gain or loss is short term or long term.

Table 4-3.

88 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
Note. For positions established before October 22, 

2004, condition 1 above does not apply. Instead, personal 

property includes stock if condition 2 above applies or the 

stock was part of a straddle in which at least one of the 

offsetting positions was:

• An option to buy or sell the stock or substantially identical stock or securities,

• A securities futures contract on the stock or substantially identical stock or securities, or

• A position on substantially similar or related property 

(other than stock).

Position. A position is an interest in personal property. A 

position can be a forward or futures contract or an option.

An interest in a loan denominated in a foreign currency 

is treated as a position in that currency. For the straddle 

rules, foreign currency for which there is an active interbank market is considered to be actively traded personal 

property. See also Foreign currency contract, earlier.

Offsetting position. This is a position that substantially 

reduces any risk of loss you may have from holding another position. However, if a position is part of a straddle 

that is not an identified straddle (described later), do not 

treat it as offsetting to a position that is part of an identified 

straddle.

Presumed offsetting positions. Two or more positions will be presumed to be offsetting if:

• The positions are established in the same personal 

property (or in a contract for this property), and the 

value of one or more positions varies inversely with the 

value of one or more of the other positions;

• The positions are in the same personal property, even 

if this property is in a substantially changed form, and 

the positions' values vary inversely as described in the 

first condition;

• The positions are in debt instruments with a similar 

maturity, and the positions' values vary inversely as 

described in the first condition;

• The positions are sold or marketed as offsetting positions, whether or not the positions are called a straddle, spread, butterfly, or any similar name; or

• The aggregate margin requirement for the positions is 

lower than the sum of the margin requirements for 

each position if held separately.

Related persons. To determine if two or more positions are offsetting, you will be treated as holding any position your spouse holds during the same period. If you 

take into account part or all of the gain or loss for a position held by a flow-through entity, such as a partnership or 

trust, you are also considered to hold that position.

Loss Deferral Rules

Generally, you can deduct a loss on the disposition of one 

or more positions only to the extent the loss is more than 

any unrecognized gain you have on offsetting positions. 

Unused losses are treated as sustained in the next tax 

year.

Unrecognized gain. This is:

• The amount of gain you would have had on an open 

position if you had sold it on the last business day of 

the tax year at its fair market value; and

• The amount of gain realized on a position if, as of the 

end of the tax year, gain has been realized but not recognized.

Example. On July 7, 2023, you entered into a straddle. On December 11, 2023, you closed one position of 

the straddle at a loss of $15,000. On December 30, 2023, 

the end of your tax year, you have an unrecognized gain of 

$12,750 in the offsetting open position. On your 2023 return, your deductible loss on the position you closed is 

limited to $2,250 ($15,000 − $12,750). You must carry forward the unused loss of $12,750.

Note. If you physically settle a position established after October 21, 2004, that is part of a straddle by delivering property to which the position relates (and you would 

realize a loss on that position if you terminated it), you are 

treated as having terminated the position for its fair market 

value immediately before the settlement and as having 

sold the property used to physically settle the position at 

its fair market value.

Exceptions. The loss deferral rules do not apply to:

1. Positions established after October 21, 2004, comprising an identified straddle;

2. Certain straddles consisting of qualified covered call 

options and the stock to be purchased under the options;

3. Hedging transactions, described earlier under Section 

1256 Contracts Marked to Market; and

4. Straddles consisting entirely of section 1256 contracts, as described earlier under Section 1256 Contracts Marked to Market (but see Identified straddle, 

later).

Note. For positions established before October 22, 

2004, the loss deferral rules also do not apply to a straddle that is an identified straddle at the end of the tax year.

Identified straddle. Any straddle (other than a straddle described in (2) or (3) above) is an identified straddle if 

all the following conditions exist.

• You clearly identified the straddle on your records before the close of the day on which you acquired it.

• For straddles acquired after December 29, 2007, you 

identified the positions in the straddle that are offsetting with respect to one another (for example, position 

A offsets position D, and position B offsets position C).

• The straddle is not part of a larger straddle.

If there is a loss from any position in an identified straddle, you must increase the basis of each of the positions 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 89
that offset the loss position in the identified straddle. The 

increase is the loss multiplied by the following fraction:

Unrecognized gain (if any) on the offsetting position 

The total unrecognized gain on all positions that offset 

the loss position in the identified straddle

For this purpose, your unrecognized gain is the excess 

of the fair market value of the position that is part of an 

identified straddle at the time you incur a loss on another 

position in the identified straddle, over the fair market 

value of that position when you identified it as a position in 

the straddle.

If the application of the above rule does not result in the 

increase in basis of any offsetting position in the identified 

straddle, you must increase the basis of each of the offsetting positions in the straddle in a manner that:

• Is reasonable,

• Is consistently applied by you,

• Is consistent with the purposes of the identified straddle rules, and

• Results in a total increase in the basis of those offsetting positions equal to the loss.

If you adopt an allocation method under this rule, you 

must describe that method in your books and records.

The identified straddle rules also apply to positions that 

are or have been a liability or obligation to you (for example, a debt obligation you issued, a written option, or a notional principal contract you entered into).

Neither you nor anyone else can take into account any 

loss on a position that is part of an identified straddle to 

the extent the loss increases the basis of any positions 

that offset the loss position in the identified straddle.

Note. For positions established before October 22, 

2004, identified straddles have to meet two additional conditions.

1. All the original positions that you identify were acquired on the same day.

2. All the positions included in condition 1 were disposed of on the same day during the tax year, or none 

of the positions were disposed of by the end of the tax 

year.

Also, the losses from positions are deferred until you dispose of all the positions in the straddle. The rule discussed above for increasing the basis of each of the positions does not apply.

Qualified covered call options and optioned stock. 

A straddle is not subject to the loss deferral rules for straddles if both of the following are true.

• All the offsetting positions consist of one or more 

qualified covered call options and the stock to be purchased from you under the options.

• The straddle is not part of a larger straddle.

But see Special year-end rule, later, for an exception.

A qualified covered call option is any option you grant to 

purchase stock you hold (or stock you acquire in connection with granting the option), but only if all the following 

are true.

• The option is traded on a national securities exchange 

or other market approved by the Secretary of the 

Treasury.

• The option is granted more than 30 days before its expiration date.

For covered call options entered into after July 28, 

2002, the option is granted not more than 12 months 

before its expiration date or satisfies term limitation 

and qualified benchmark requirements published in 

the Internal Revenue Bulletin.

• The option is not a deep-in-the-money option.

• You are not an options dealer who granted the option 

in connection with your activity of dealing in options.

• Gain or loss on the option is capital gain or loss.

A deep-in-the-money option is an option with a strike 

price lower than the lowest qualified benchmark (LQB). 

The strike price is the price at which the option is to be exercised. Strike prices are listed in the financial sections of 

many newspapers. The LQB is the highest available strike 

price that is less than the applicable stock price. However, 

the LQB for an option with a term of more than 90 days 

and a strike price of more than $50 is the second-highest 

available strike price that is less than the applicable stock 

price.

The availability of strike prices for equity options with 

flexible terms does not affect the determination of the LQB 

for an option that is not an equity option with flexible 

terms.

The applicable stock price for any stock for which an 

option has been granted is:

1. The closing price of the stock on the most recent day 

on which that stock was traded before the date on 

which the option was granted; or

2. The opening price of the stock on the day on which 

the option was granted, but only if that price is greater 

than 110% of the price determined in (1).

If the applicable stock price is $25 or less, the LQB will 

be treated as not less than 85% of the applicable stock 

price. If the applicable stock price is $150 or less, the LQB 

will be treated as not less than an amount that is $10 below the applicable stock price.

Example. On May 12, 2023, you held XYZ stock and 

you wrote an XYZ/September call option with a strike price 

of $120. The closing price of one share of XYZ stock on 

May 11, 2023, was $130.25. The strike prices of all XYZ/

September call options offered on May 12, 2023, were as 

follows: $110, $115, $120, $125, $130, and $135. Because the option has a term of more than 90 days, the 

LQB is $125, the second-highest strike price that is less 

than $130.25, the applicable stock price. The call option is 

a deep-in-the-money option because its strike price is 

lower than the LQB. As a result, the option is not a 

qualified covered call option, and the loss deferral rules 

90 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
apply if you closed out the option or the stock at a loss 

during the year.

Capital loss on qualified covered call options. If 

you hold stock and you write a qualified covered call option on that stock with a strike price less than the applicable stock price, treat any loss from the option as long-term 

capital loss if, at the time the loss was realized, gain on the 

sale or exchange of the stock would be treated as 

long-term capital gain. The holding period of the stock 

does not include any period during which you are the 

writer of the option.

Special year-end rule. The loss deferral rules for 

straddles apply if all the following are true.

• The qualified covered call options are closed, or the 

stock is disposed of at a loss during any tax year.

• Gain on disposition of the stock or gain on the options 

is includible in gross income in a later tax year.

• The stock or options were held less than 30 days after 

the closing of the options or the disposition of the 

stock.

How To Report Gains

and Losses (Form 6781)

As a general rule, report each position (whether or not it is 

part of a straddle) on which you have unrecognized gain at 

the end of the tax year and the amount of this unrecognized gain in Part III of Form 6781. Use Part II of Form 

6781 to figure your gains and losses on straddles. See the 

Form 6781 instructions for how to report these gains and 

losses.

Coordination of Loss Deferral Rules and 

Wash Sale Rules

Rules similar to the wash sale rules apply to any disposition of a position or positions of a straddle. First apply 

Rule 1, explained next, then apply Rule 2. However, Rule 

1 applies only if stocks or securities make up a position 

that is part of the straddle. If a position in the straddle 

does not include stock or securities, use Rule 2.

Rule 1. You cannot deduct a loss on the disposition of 

shares of stock or securities that make up the positions of 

a straddle if, within a period beginning 30 days before the 

date of that disposition and ending 30 days after that date, 

you acquired substantially identical stock or securities. Instead, the loss will be carried over to the following tax 

year, subject to any further application of Rule 1 in that 

year. This rule will also apply if you entered into a contract 

or option to acquire the stock or securities within the time 

period described above. See Loss carryover, later, for 

more information about how to treat the loss in the following tax year.

Dealers. If you are a dealer in stock or securities, this 

loss treatment will not apply to any losses you sustained in 

the ordinary course of your business.

Example. You are not a dealer in stock or securities. 

On December 1, 2023, you bought stock in XX Corporation (XX stock) and an offsetting put option. On December 

8, 2023, there was $20 of unrealized gain in the put option 

and you sold the XX stock at a $20 loss. By December 15, 

2023, the value of the put option had declined, eliminating 

all unrealized gain in the position. On December 15, you 

bought a second XX stock position that is substantially 

identical to the XX stock you sold on December 8. At the 

end of the year, there is no unrecognized gain in the put 

option or in the XX stock. Under these circumstances, the 

$20 loss will be disallowed for 2023 under Rule 1 because, within a period beginning 30 days before December 8 and ending 30 days after that date, you bought stock 

substantially identical to the XX stock you sold.

Rule 2. You cannot deduct a loss on the disposition of 

less than all the positions of a straddle (your loss position) 

to the extent that any unrecognized gain at the close of the 

tax year in one or more of the following positions is more 

than any loss disallowed under Rule 1.

• Successor positions.

• Offsetting positions to the loss position.

• Offsetting positions to any successor position.

Successor position. A successor position is a position that is or was at any time offsetting to a second position if both the following conditions are met.

• The second position was offsetting to the loss position 

that was sold.

• The successor position is entered into during a period 

beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the 

sale of the loss position.

Example 1. On November 3, 2023, you entered into 

offsetting long and short positions in non-section 1256 

contracts. On November 10, 2023, you disposed of the 

long position at a $10 loss. On November 17, 2023, you 

entered into a new long position (successor position) that 

is offsetting to the retained short position, but not substantially identical to the long position disposed of on November 10. You held both positions through year end, at which 

time there was $10 of unrecognized gain in the successor 

long position and no unrecognized gain in the offsetting 

short position. Under these circumstances, the entire $10 

loss will be disallowed for 2023 because there is $10 of 

unrecognized gain in the successor long position.

Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1, 

except that at year end you have $4 of unrecognized gain 

in the successor long position and $6 of unrecognized 

gain in the offsetting short position. Under these circumstances, the entire $10 loss will be disallowed for 2023 because there is a total of $10 of unrecognized gain in the 

successor long position and offsetting short position.

Example 3. The facts are the same as in Example 1, 

except that at year end you have $8 of unrecognized gain 

in the successor long position and $8 of unrecognized 

loss in the offsetting short position. Under these 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 91
circumstances, $8 of the total $10 realized loss will be disallowed for 2023 because there is $8 of unrecognized gain 

in the successor long position.

Loss carryover. If you have a disallowed loss that resulted from applying Rule 1 and Rule 2, you must carry it 

over to the next tax year and apply Rule 1 and Rule 2 to 

that carryover loss. For example, a loss disallowed in 2022 

under Rule 1 will not be allowed in 2023, unless the substantially identical stock or securities (which caused the 

loss to be disallowed in 2022) were disposed of during 

2023. In addition, the carryover loss will not be allowed in 

2023 if Rule 1 or Rule 2 disallows it.

Example. The facts are the same as in the example 

under Rule 1. On December 29, 2024, you sell the second 

XX stock at a $20 loss and there is $40 of unrecognized 

gain in the put option. Under these circumstances, you 

cannot deduct in 2024 either the $20 loss disallowed in 

2023 or the $20 loss you incurred for the December 29, 

2024, sale of XX stock. Rule 1 does not apply because 

the substantially identical XX stock was sold during the 

year and no substantially identical stock or securities were 

bought within the 61-day period. However, Rule 2 does 

apply because there is $40 of unrecognized gain in the put 

option, an offsetting position to the loss positions.

Capital loss carryover. If the sale of a loss position 

would have resulted in a capital loss, you treat the carryover loss as a capital loss on the date it is allowed, even if 

you would treat the gain or loss on any successor positions as ordinary income or loss. Likewise, if the sale of a 

loss position (in the case of section 1256 contracts) would 

have resulted in a 60% long-term capital loss and a 40% 

short-term capital loss, you treat the carryover loss under 

the 60/40 rule, even if you would treat any gain or loss on 

any successor positions as 100% long-term or short-term 

capital gain or loss.

Exceptions. The rules for coordinating straddle losses 

and wash sales do not apply to the following loss situations.

• Loss on the sale of one or more positions in a hedging 

transaction. (Hedging transactions are described under Section 1256 Contracts Marked to Market, earlier.)

• Loss on the sale of a loss position in a mixed straddle 

account. (See Mixed straddle account (Election C), 

later.)

• Loss on the sale of a position that is part of a straddle 

consisting only of section 1256 contracts.

Holding Period and

Loss Treatment Rules

The holding period of a position in a straddle generally begins no earlier than the date on which the straddle ends 

(the date you no longer hold an offsetting position). This 

rule does not apply to any position you held more than 1 

year before you established the straddle. But see Exceptions, later.

Example. On March 10, 2022, you acquired gold. On 

January 10, 2023, you entered into an offsetting short gold 

forward contract (nonregulated futures contract). On April 

3, 2023, you disposed of the short gold forward contract at 

no gain or loss. On April 13, 2023, you sold the gold at a 

gain. Because the gold had been held for 1 year or less 

before the offsetting short position was entered into, the 

holding period for the gold begins on April 3, 2023, the 

date the straddle ended. Gain recognized on the sale of 

the gold will be treated as short-term capital gain.

Loss treatment. Treat the loss on the sale of one or 

more positions (the loss position) of a straddle as a 

long-term capital loss if both the following are true.

• You held (directly or indirectly) one or more offsetting 

positions to the loss position on the date you entered 

into the loss position.

• You would have treated all gain or loss on one or more 

of the straddle positions as long-term capital gain or 

loss if you had sold these positions on the day you entered into the loss position.

Mixed straddles. Special rules apply to a loss position 

that is part of a mixed straddle and that is a non-section 

1256 position. A mixed straddle is a straddle:

• That is not part of a larger straddle,

• In which all positions are held as capital assets,

• In which at least one (but not all) of the positions is a 

section 1256 contract, and

• For which the mixed straddle election (Election A, discussed later) has not been made.

Treat the loss as 60% long-term capital loss and 40% 

short-term capital loss if all the following conditions apply.

• Gain or loss from the sale of one or more of the straddle positions that are section 1256 contracts would be 

considered gain or loss from the sale or exchange of a 

capital asset.

• The sale of no position in the straddle, other than a 

section 1256 contract, would result in a long-term capital gain or loss.

• You have not made a straddle-by-straddle identification election (Election B) or mixed straddle account 

election (Election C), both discussed later.

Example. On March 3, 2023, you entered into a long 

gold forward contract. On July 14, 2023, you entered into 

an offsetting short gold regulated futures contract. You did 

not make an election to offset gains and losses from positions in a mixed straddle. On August 4, 2023, you disposed of the long forward contract at a loss. Because the 

gold forward contract was part of a mixed straddle and the 

disposition of this non-section 1256 position would not result in long-term capital loss, the loss recognized on the 

termination of the gold forward contract will be treated as 

a 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital loss.

92 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
Exceptions. The special holding period and loss treatment for straddle positions does not apply to positions 

that:

• Constitute part of a hedging transaction;

• Are included in a straddle consisting only of section 

1256 contracts; or

• Are included in a mixed straddle account (Election C), 

discussed later.

Mixed Straddle Elections

If you disposed of a position in a mixed straddle and make 

one of the elections described in the following discussions, report your gain or loss as indicated in those discussions. If you do not make any of the elections, report 

your gain or loss in Part II of Form 6781. If you disposed of 

the section 1256 component of the straddle, enter the recognized loss (line 10, column (h)) or your gain (line 12, 

column (f)) in Part I of Form 6781, on line 1. Do not include 

it on line 11 or 13 (Part II).

Mixed straddle election (Election A). You can elect out 

of the marked-to-market rules, discussed under Section 

1256 Contracts Marked to Market, earlier, for all section 

1256 contracts that are part of a mixed straddle. Instead, 

the gain and loss rules for straddles will apply to these 

contracts. However, if you make this election for an option 

on a section 1256 contract, the gain or loss treatment discussed earlier under Options will apply, subject to the gain 

and loss rules for straddles.

You can make this election if:

• At least one (but not all) of the positions is a section 

1256 contract, and

• Each position forming part of the straddle is clearly 

identified as being part of that straddle on the day the 

first section 1256 contract forming part of the straddle 

is acquired.

If you make this election, it will apply for all later years 

as well. It cannot be revoked without the consent of the 

IRS. If you made this election, check box A of Form 6781. 

Do not report the section 1256 component in Part I.

Other elections. You can avoid the 60% long-term capital loss treatment required for a non-section 1256 loss position that is part of a mixed straddle, described earlier, if 

you choose either of the two following elections to offset 

gains and losses for these positions.

• Election B. Make a separate identification of the positions of each mixed straddle for which you are electing 

this treatment (the straddle-by-straddle identification 

method).

• Election C. Establish a mixed straddle account for a 

class of activities for which gains and losses will be 

recognized and offset on a periodic basis.

These two elections are alternatives to the mixed straddle 

election. You can choose only one of the three elections. 

Use Form 6781 to indicate your election choice by checking box A, B, or C, whichever applies.

Straddle-by-straddle identification election (Election B). Under this election, you must clearly identify 

each position that is part of the identified mixed straddle 

by the earlier of:

• The close of the day the identified mixed straddle is 

established, or

• The time the position is disposed of.

If you dispose of a position in the mixed straddle before 

the end of the day on which the straddle is established, 

this identification must be made by the time you dispose 

of the position. You are presumed to have properly identified a mixed straddle if independent verification is used.

If you make this election, any positions you held on the 

day before the election are deemed sold for their fair market value at the close of the last business day before the 

day of the election. For elections made on or before August 18, 2014, take this gain or loss into account when figuring taxable income for the year in which the election was 

made. For elections made after August 18, 2014, take this 

gain or loss into account in the year you would have reported the gain or loss if the identified mixed straddle had not 

been established. In addition, when the gain or loss that 

accrued prior to the time the identified mixed straddle was 

established is taken into account, it will have the same 

character it would have had if the identified mixed straddle 

had not been established. See Regulations section 

1.1092(b)-6 for details.

The basic tax treatment of gain or loss under this election depends on which side of the straddle produced the 

total net gain or loss. If the net gain or loss from the straddle is due to the section 1256 contracts, gain or loss is 

treated as 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% 

short-term capital gain or loss. Enter the net gain or loss in 

Part I of Form 6781 and identify the election by checking 

box B.

If the net gain or loss is due to the non-section 1256 positions, gain or loss is short-term capital gain or loss. See 

the Form 6781 instructions for how to report the net gain 

or loss.

For the specific application of the rules of this election, 

see Regulations sections 1.1092(b)-3T and 1.1092(b)-6.

Example 1. Straddle established on or before August 

18, 2014. On April 2, 2014, you entered into a non-section 

1256 position and an offsetting section 1256 contract. You 

also made a valid election to treat this straddle as an identified mixed straddle. On April 9, 2014, you disposed of 

the non-section 1256 position at a $600 loss and the section 1256 contract at an $800 gain. Under these circumstances, the $600 loss on the non-section 1256 position 

was offset against the $800 gain on the section 1256 contract. The net gain of $200 from the straddle was treated 

as 60% long-term capital gain and 40% short-term capital 

gain because it was due to the section 1256 contract.

Example 2. Straddle established after August 18, 

2014. On December 2, 2022, you entered into a non-section 1256 position for $100. At the end of the day on January 24, 2023, the position had a value of $500. On January 25, 2023, you entered into an offsetting section 1256 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 93
position. You elected to treat the straddle as an identified 

mixed straddle.

On February 10, 2023, you closed out the section 1256 

contract at a $500 loss and disposed of the non-section 

1256 position for $975. Prior to entering into the identified 

mixed straddle, you had a $400 unrealized short-term 

capital gain on the non-section 1256 position. When you 

disposed of the non-section 1256 position on February 

10, 2023, you recognized the $400 gain. This gain is figured as though you had disposed of the position on the 

day prior to establishing the identified mixed straddle.

You also realized a gain of $475 ($975 proceeds – $500 

value before entering into the identified mixed straddle). 

This gain is offset by the $500 loss on the section 1256 

contract for a net loss of $25. This net loss is recognized 

and treated as 60% long-term capital loss and 40% 

short-term capital loss attributable to the section 1256 

contract.

Mixed straddle account (Election C). You may elect 

to establish one or more accounts for determining gains 

and losses from all positions in a mixed straddle. You must 

establish a separate mixed straddle account for each separate designated class of activities.

Generally, you must determine gain or loss for each position in a mixed straddle account as of the close of each 

business day of the tax year. You offset the net section 

1256 contracts against the net non-section 1256 positions 

to determine the “daily account net gain or loss.”

If the daily account amount is due to non-section 1256 

positions, the amount is treated as short-term capital gain 

or loss. If the daily account amount is due to section 1256 

contracts, the amount is treated as 60% long-term and 

40% short-term capital gain or loss.

On the last business day of the tax year, you determine 

the “annual account net gain or loss” for each account by 

netting the daily account amounts for that account for the 

tax year. The “total annual account net gain or loss” is determined by netting the annual account amounts for all 

mixed straddle accounts that you had established.

The net amounts keep their long-term or short-term 

classification. However, no more than 50% of the total annual account net gain for the tax year can be treated as 

long-term capital gain. Any remaining gain is treated as 

short-term capital gain. Also, no more than 40% of the total annual account net loss can be treated as short-term 

capital loss. Any remaining loss is treated as long-term 

capital loss.

The election to establish one or more mixed straddle 

accounts for each tax year must be made by the due date 

(without extensions) of your income tax return for the immediately preceding tax year. If you begin trading in a new 

class of activities during a tax year, you must make the 

election for the new class of activities by the later of either:

• The due date of your return for the immediately preceding tax year (without extensions), or

• 60 days after you entered into the first mixed straddle 

in the new class of activities.

You make the election on Form 6781 by checking box 

C. Attach Form 6781 to your income tax return for the 

immediately preceding tax year, or file it within 60 days, if 

that applies. Report the annual account net gain or loss 

from a mixed straddle account in Part II of Form 6781. In 

addition, you must attach a statement to Form 6781 specifically designating the class of activities for which a 

mixed straddle account is established.

For the specific application of the rules of this election, 

see Regulations section 1.1092(b)-4T.

Interest expense and carrying charges relating to 

mixed straddle account positions. You cannot deduct 

interest and carrying charges that are allocable to any positions held in a mixed straddle account. Treat these 

charges as an adjustment to the annual account net gain 

or loss and allocate them proportionately between the net 

short-term and the net long-term capital gains or losses.

To find the amount of interest and carrying charges that 

is not deductible and that must be added to the annual account net gain or loss, apply the rules described earlier to 

the positions held in the mixed straddle account. See Interest expense and carrying charges on straddles in chapter 3.

For special rules on the deferral of gain related to a 

straddle where the gain is invested in a Qualified Opportunity Fund, see section 1400Z-2 for more details.

Sales of Stock to Employee Stock 

Ownership Plans (ESOPs) or Certain

Cooperatives

If you sold qualified securities held for at least 3 years to 

an ESOP or eligible worker-owned cooperative, you may 

be able to elect to postpone all or part of the gain on the 

sale if you bought qualified replacement property (certain 

securities) within the period that began 3 months before 

the sale and ended 12 months after the sale. If you make 

the election, you must recognize gain on the sale only to 

the extent the proceeds from the sale exceed the cost of 

the qualified replacement property.

You must reduce the basis of the replacement property 

by any postponed gain. If you dispose of any replacement 

property, you may have to recognize all of the postponed 

gain.

Generally, to qualify for the election, the ESOP or cooperative must own at least 30% of the outstanding stock of 

the corporation that issued the qualified securities. Also, 

the qualified replacement property must have been issued 

by a domestic operating corporation.

How to make the election. You must make the election 

no later than the due date (including extensions) for filing 

your tax return for the year in which you sold the stock. If 

your original return was filed on time, you may make the 

election on an amended return filed no later than 6 months 

after the due date of your return (excluding extensions). 

Enter “Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” at the top of 

the amended return and file it at the same address you 

used for your original return.

94 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
How to report and postpone gain. Report the sale 

in Part II of Form 8949 as you would if you were not making the election. Then enter “R” in column (f). Enter the 

amount of the postponed gain as a negative number in 

column (g). Put it in parentheses to show it is negative. 

Complete all remaining columns. If the actual postponed 

gain is different from the amount you report, file an amended return.

Report your sales of stock to ESOPs or certain 

cooperatives on Form 8949 with the correct box 

checked for these transactions. See Form 8949 

and the Instructions for Form 8949.

Also attach the following statements.

1. A “statement of election” that indicates you are making an election under section 1042(a) of the Internal 

Revenue Code and that includes the following information.

a. A description of the securities sold, including the 

type and number of shares, the date of the sale, 

the amount realized on the sale, and the adjusted 

basis of the securities.

b. The name of the ESOP or cooperative to which 

the qualified securities were sold.

c. For a sale that was part of a single interrelated 

transaction under a prearranged agreement between taxpayers involving other sales of qualified 

securities, the names and identifying numbers of 

the other taxpayers under the agreement and the 

number of shares sold by the other taxpayers.

2. A notarized “statement of purchase” describing the 

qualified replacement property, date of purchase, and 

the cost of the property and declaring the property to 

be qualified replacement property for the qualified 

stock you sold. The statement must have been notarized no later than 30 days after the purchase. If you 

have not yet purchased the qualified replacement 

property, you must attach the notarized “statement of 

purchase” to your income tax return for the year following the election year (or the election will not be 

valid).

3. A verified written statement of the domestic corporation whose employees are covered by the ESOP acquiring the securities, or of any authorized officer of 

the cooperative, consenting to the taxes under sections 4978 and 4979A of the Internal Revenue Code 

on certain dispositions, and prohibited allocations of 

the stock purchased by the ESOP or cooperative.

More information. For details, see section 1042 of the 

Internal Revenue Code and Regulations section 

1.1042-1T.

Gains on Qualified

Small Business Stock

This section discusses two provisions of the law that may 

apply to gain from the sale or trade of qualified small 

CAUTION

!

business stock. You may qualify for a tax-free rollover of all 

or part of the gain. You may be able to exclude gain from 

your income.

Qualified small business stock. This is stock that 

meets all the following tests.

1. It must be stock in a C corporation.

2. It must have been originally issued after August 10, 

1993.

3. The corporation must have total gross assets of $50 

million or less at all times after August 9, 1993, and 

before it issued the stock. Its total gross assets immediately after it issued the stock must also be $50 million or less.

When figuring the corporation's total gross assets, 

you must also count the assets of any predecessor of 

the corporation. In addition, you must treat all corporations that are members of the same parent-subsidiary 

controlled group as one corporation.

4. You must have acquired the stock at its original issue, 

directly or through an underwriter, in exchange for 

money or other property (not including stock), or as 

pay for services provided to the corporation (other 

than services performed as an underwriter of the 

stock). In certain cases, your stock may also meet this 

test if you acquired it from another person who met 

this test, or through a conversion or trade of qualified 

small business stock that you held.

5. The corporation must have met the active business 

test, defined next, and must have been a C corporation during substantially all the time you held the 

stock.

6. Within the period beginning 2 years before and ending 2 years after the stock was issued, the corporation 

cannot have bought more than a de minimis amount 

of its stock from you or a related party.

7. Within the period beginning 1 year before and ending 

1 year after the stock was issued, the corporation cannot have bought more than a de minimis amount of its 

stock from anyone, unless the total value of the stock 

it bought is 5% or less of the total value of all its stock.

For more information about tests 6 and 7, see the regulations under section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Active business test. A corporation meets this test for 

any period of time if, during that period, both the following 

are true.

• It was an eligible corporation, defined below.

• It used at least 80% (by value) of its assets in the active conduct of at least one qualified trade or business, 

defined below.

Exception for Specialized Small Business Investment Company (SSBIC). Any SSBIC is treated as meeting the active business test. An SSBIC is an eligible corporation licensed to operate under section 301(d) of the 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 95
Small Business Investment Act of 1958, as in effect on 

May 13, 1993.

Eligible corporation. This is any U.S. corporation 

other than:

• A Domestic International Sales Corporation (DISC) or 

a former DISC;

• A corporation that has made, or whose subsidiary has 

made, an election under section 936 of the Internal 

Revenue Code;

• A regulated investment company;

• A REIT;

• A REMIC;

• Certain financial asset securitization investment trusts 

(FASITs); or

• A cooperative.

Qualified trade or business. This is any trade or 

business other than:

• One involving services performed in the fields of 

health, law, engineering, architecture, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, athletics, 

financial services, or brokerage services;

• One whose principal asset is the reputation or skill of 

one or more employees;

• Any banking, insurance, financing, leasing, investing, 

or similar business;

• Any farming business (including the business of raising or harvesting trees);

• Any business involving the production or extraction of 

products for which percentage depletion can be 

claimed; or

• Any business of operating a hotel, motel, restaurant, 

or similar business.

Rollover of Gain

You may qualify for a tax-free rollover of capital gain from 

the sale of qualified small business stock held more than 6 

months. This means that, if you buy certain replacement 

stock and make the choice described in this section, you 

postpone part or all of your gain.

You postpone the gain by adjusting the basis of the replacement stock as described in Basis of replacement 

stock, later. This postpones your gain until the year you 

dispose of the replacement stock.

You can make this choice if you meet all the following 

tests.

• You buy replacement stock during the 60-day period 

beginning on the date of the sale.

• The replacement stock is qualified small business 

stock.

• The replacement stock continues to meet the active 

business requirement for small business stock for at 

least the first 6 months after you buy it.

Amount of gain recognized. If you make the choice described in this section, you must recognize the capital gain 

only up to the following amount.

• The amount realized on the sale, minus

• The cost of any qualified small business stock you 

bought during the 60-day period beginning on the date 

of sale (and did not previously take into account on an 

earlier sale of qualified small business stock).

If this amount is less than the amount of your capital gain, 

you can postpone the rest of that gain. If this amount 

equals or is more than the amount of your capital gain, you 

must recognize the full amount of your gain.

Basis of replacement stock. You must subtract the 

amount of postponed gain from the basis of your replacement stock.

Holding period of replacement stock. Your holding period for the replacement stock includes your holding period for the stock sold, except for the purpose of applying 

the 6-month holding period requirement for choosing to 

roll over the gain on its sale.

Pass-through entity. A pass-through entity (a partnership, S corporation, or mutual fund or other regulated investment company) may also make the choice to postpone gain. The benefit of the postponed gain applies to 

your share of the entity's postponed gain if you held an interest in the entity for the entire period the entity held the 

stock.

If a pass-through entity sold qualified small business 

stock held for more than 6 months and you held an interest in the entity for the entire period the entity held the 

stock, you may also choose to postpone gain if you, rather 

than the pass-through entity, buy the replacement stock 

within the 60-day period.

How to report gain. Report the entire gain realized from 

the sale in Part I or Part II of Form 8949. To make the election to postpone gain, report the gain as you would if you 

were not making the election. Enter “R” in column (f). Enter the amount of the postponed gain as a negative number in column (g). Put it in parentheses to show it is negative. Complete all remaining columns.

Report these transactions on Form 8949 with the 

correct box checked. See Form 8949 and the Instructions for Form 8949.

You must make the choice to postpone gain no later 

than the due date (including extensions) for filing your tax 

return for the year in which you sold the stock. If your original return was filed on time, you may make the choice on 

an amended return filed no later than 6 months after the 

due date of your return (excluding extensions). Enter 

“Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” at the top of the 

amended return and file it at the same address you used 

for your original return.

CAUTION

!

96 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
Section 1202 Exclusion

You can generally exclude from your income up to 50% of 

your gain from the sale or trade of qualified small business 

stock held by you for more than 5 years. The exclusion 

can be up to 75% for stock acquired after February 17, 

2009, and no later than September 27, 2010, and up to 

100% for stock acquired after September 27, 2010. The 

exclusion can be up to 60% for certain empowerment 

zone business stock for gain attributable to periods on or 

before December 31, 2018. The 60% exclusion doesn't 

apply to gain attributable to periods after December 31, 

2018. See Empowerment zone business stock, later. The 

eligible gain minus your section 1202 exclusion is a 28% 

rate gain. See Capital Gain Tax Rates, later.

SSBIC stock. If the stock is SSBIC stock you bought as 

replacement property for publicly traded securities you 

sold at a gain before 2018, you must reduce the basis of 

the stock by the amount of any postponed gain on that 

earlier sale. But do not reduce your basis by that amount 

when figuring your section 1202 exclusion.

Limit on eligible gain. The amount of your gain from 

the stock of any one issuer that is eligible for the exclusion 

in 2022 is limited to the greater of:

• Ten times your basis in all qualified stock of the issuer 

you sold or exchanged during the year; or

• $10 million ($5 million for married individuals filing 

separately), minus the amount of gain from the stock 

of the same issuer you used to figure your exclusion in 

earlier years.

How to report gain. Report the sale or exchange on 

Form 8949, Part II, with the appropriate box checked, as 

you would if you were not taking the exclusion. Then enter 

“Q” in column (f) and enter the amount of the excluded 

gain as a negative number in column (g). Put it in parentheses to show it is negative. Complete all remaining columns. If you are completing line 18 of Schedule D (Form 

1040), enter as a positive number the amount of the exclusion on line 2 of the 28% Rate Gain Worksheet in the 

Schedule D (Form 1040) instructions. But if you exclude 

60% of the gain, enter 2/3 of the exclusion. If you exclude 

75% of the gain, enter 1/3 of the exclusion. If you exclude 

100% of the gain, do not enter an amount.

Report these transactions on Form 8949 with the 

correct box checked. See Form 8949 and the Instructions for Form 8949.

More information. For information about additional requirements that may apply, see section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Empowerment zone business stock. You can exclude 

up to 60% of your gain if you meet all the following additional requirements.

1. You sell or trade stock in a corporation that qualifies 

as an empowerment zone business during substantially all of the time you held the stock.

CAUTION

!

2. You acquired the stock after December 21, 2000, and 

before February 18, 2009.

3. The gain from the sale or exchange of the stock is attributable to periods on or before December 31, 2018.

Condition 1 will still be met if the corporation ceased to 

qualify after the 5-year period that begins on the date you 

acquired the stock. However, the gain that qualifies for the 

60% exclusion cannot be more than the gain you would 

have had if you had sold the stock on the date the corporation ceased to qualify.

Note. If either the 75% or 100% exclusion applies, 

then the 60% exclusion does not apply.

Exclusion of Gain From DC Zone 

Assets

If you sold or exchanged a District of Columbia Enterprise 

Zone (DC Zone) asset that you acquired after 1997 and 

before 2012 and held for more than 5 years, you may be 

able to exclude the amount of qualified capital gain that 

you would otherwise include in income. The exclusion applies to an interest in, or property of, certain businesses 

operating in the District of Columbia.

How to report. Report the sale or exchange on Form 

8949, Part II, as you would if you were not taking the exclusion. Enter “X” in column (f) and enter the amount of the 

exclusion as a negative number in column (g). Put the 

amount in parentheses to show it is negative. See the instructions for Form 8949, columns (f), (g), and (h). Complete all remaining columns.

Rollover of Gain From Empowerment 

Zone Assets

The election to roll over gain from the sale of empowerment zone assets doesn’t apply to sales in tax years beginning after 2020. See section 1397B.

Reporting Capital

Gains and Losses

Generally, report capital gains and losses on Form 8949. 

Complete Form 8949 before you complete line 1b, 2, 3, 

8b, 9, or 10 of Schedule D (Form 1040).

Use Form 8949 to report:

• The sale or exchange of a capital asset not reported 

on another form or schedule,

• Gains from involuntary conversions (other than from 

casualty or theft) of capital assets not held for business or profit,

• Nonbusiness bad debts, and

• Worthlessness of a security.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 97
Use Schedule D (Form 1040) to report:

• Overall gain or loss from transactions reported on 

Form 8949;

• Certain transactions you do not have to report on 

Form 8949;

• Gain from Form 2439 or 6252 or Part I of Form 4797;

• Gain or loss from Form 4684, 6781, or 8824;

• Gain or loss from a partnership, S corporation, estate, 

or trust;

• Capital gain distributions not reported directly on your 

Form 1040; and

• Capital loss carryover from the previous year to the 

current year.

On Form 8949, enter all sales and exchanges of capital 

assets, including stocks, bonds, etc., and real estate (if 

not reported on Form 4684, 4797, 6252, 6781, 8824, or 

line 1a or 8a of Schedule D (Form 1040). Include these 

transactions even if you did not receive a Form 1099-B or 

Form 1099-S, Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions, 

for the transaction. Report short-term gains or losses in 

Part I. Report long-term gains or losses in Part II. Use as 

many Forms 8949 as you need.

Exceptions to filing Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 

1040). There are certain situations where you may not 

have to file Form 8949 and/or Schedule D (Form 1040).

Exception 1. You do not have to file Form 8949 or 

Schedule D (Form 1040) if you have no capital losses and 

your only capital gains are capital gain distributions from 

box 2a of Form(s) 1099-DIV. If any Form 1099-DIV you receive has an amount in box 2b (unrecaptured section 

1250 gain), box 2c (section 1202 gain), or box 2d (collectibles (28%) gain), you do not qualify for this exception.

If you qualify for this exception, report your capital gain 

distributions directly on Form 1040, line 7, and check the 

box on that line. Also use the Qualified Dividends and 

Capital Gain Tax Worksheet in the Instructions for Forms 

1040 to figure your tax.

Exception 2. You must file Schedule D (Form 1040), 

but generally do not have to file Form 8949, if Exception 1 

above does not apply and your only capital gains and losses are:

• Capital gain distributions;

• A capital loss carryover;

• A gain from Form 2439 or 6252 or Part I of Form 4797;

• A gain or loss from Form 4684, 6781, or 8824;

• A gain or loss from a partnership, S corporation, estate, or trust; or

• Gains and losses from transactions for which you received a Form 1099-B that shows basis was reported 

to the IRS, for which the Ordinary box in box 2 is not 

checked, and for which you do not need to make any 

adjustments in column (g) of Form 8949 or enter any 

codes in column (f) of Form 8949.

Installment sales. You cannot use the installment 

method to report a gain from the sale of stock or securities 

traded on an established securities market. You must report the entire gain in the year of sale (the year in which 

the trade date occurs).

At-risk rules. Special at-risk rules apply to most income-producing activities. These rules limit the amount of 

loss you can deduct to the amount you risk losing in the 

activity. The at-risk rules also apply to a loss from the sale 

or trade of an asset used in an activity to which the at-risk 

rules apply. For more information, see Pub. 925. Use Form 

6198, At-Risk Limitations, to figure the amount of loss you 

can deduct.

Passive activity gains and losses. If you have gains or 

losses from a passive activity, you may also have to report 

them on Form 8582. In some cases, the loss may be limited under the passive activity rules. Refer to Form 8582 

and its instructions for more information about reporting 

capital gains and losses from a passive activity.

Form 1099-B transactions. If you sold property, such as 

stocks, bonds, or certain commodities, through a broker, 

you should receive Form 1099-B from the broker. Use the 

Form 1099-B to complete Form 8949 and/or Schedule D 

(Form 1040).

If you received a Form 1099-B for a transaction, you 

usually report the transaction on Form 8949. Report the 

proceeds shown in box 1d of Form 1099-B in column (d) 

of either Part I or Part II of Form 8949, whichever applies.

Include in column (g) any selling expenses or option 

premiums not reflected in box 1d or box 1e of Form 

1099-B. If you include a selling expense in column (g), enter “E” in column (f).

Enter the basis shown in box 1e in column (e). If the basis shown on Form 1099-B is not correct, see the table 

How To Complete Form 8949, Columns (f) and (g), in the 

Instructions for Form 8949 for the adjustment you must 

make. If no basis is shown on Form 1099-B, enter the correct basis of the property in column (e). See the instructions for Form 1099-B, Form 8949, and Schedule D (Form 

1040) for more information.

Example 1. You sold 100 shares of Fund HIJ for 

$2,500. You paid a $75 commission to the broker for handling the sale. Your Form 1099-B shows that the net sales 

proceeds, $2,425 ($2,500 − $75), were reported to the 

IRS. Report $2,425 in column (d) of Form 8949. Complete 

columns (a), (b), (c), and (e).

Example 2. You sold 200 shares of Fund KLM for 

$10,000. You paid a $100 commission at the time of the 

sale. The broker reported the gross proceeds to the IRS 

on Form 1099-B, so on Form 8949, you enter “E” in column (f), $10,000 in column (d), and $100 as a negative 

adjustment in column (g). Complete all remaining columns.

Section 1256 contracts and straddles. Use Form 

6781 to report gains and losses from section 1256 contracts and straddles before entering these amounts on 

98 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
Schedule D (Form 1040). Include a copy of Form 6781 

with your income tax return.

Market discount bonds. Report the sale or trade of a 

market discount bond on Part I or Part II of Form 8949, 

whichever is appropriate. See the table How To Complete 

Form 8949, Columns (f) and (g), in the Instructions for 

Form 8949 to help you figure the amounts to report for a 

sale or trade of a market discount bond. Use the Worksheet for Accrued Market Discount Adjustment in Column 

(g) in those instructions to figure the adjusted accrued 

market discount. Also report the amount of accrued market discount as interest income on Schedule B (Form 

1040), line 1, and identify it as “Accrued Market Discount.” 

See the Instructions for Form 8949 for more information.

Form 1099-CAP transactions. If a corporation in which 

you own stock has had a change in control or a substantial 

change in capital structure, you should receive Form 

1099-CAP, Changes in Corporate Control and Capital 

Structure, from the corporation. Use the Form 1099-CAP 

to fill in Form 8949. If your computations show that you 

would have a loss because of the change, do not enter 

any amounts on Form 8949 or Schedule D (Form 1040) as 

a result of this transaction.

Report the aggregate amount received shown in box 2 

of Form 1099-CAP as the sales price in column (d) of either Part I or Part II of Form 8949, whichever applies.

Form 1099-S transactions. If you sold or traded reportable real estate, you should generally receive from the real 

estate reporting person a Form 1099-S showing the gross 

proceeds.

“Reportable real estate” is defined as any present or future ownership interest in any of the following.

• Improved or unimproved land, including air space.

• Inherently permanent structures, including any residential, commercial, or industrial building.

• A condominium unit and its accessory fixtures and 

common elements, including land.

• Stock in a cooperative housing corporation (as defined in section 216 of the Internal Revenue Code).

• Any noncontingent interest in standing timber.

A “real estate reporting person” could include the buyer's attorney, your attorney, the title or escrow company, a 

mortgage lender, your broker, the buyer's broker, or the 

person acquiring the biggest interest in the property.

Your Form 1099-S will show the gross proceeds from 

the sale or exchange in box 2. See the Instructions for 

Form 8949 and the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 

1040) for how to report these transactions and include 

them in Part I or Part II of Form 8949, as appropriate. However, report like-kind exchanges on Form 8824 instead.

It is unlawful for any real estate reporting person to separately charge you for complying with the requirement to 

file Form 1099-S.

Nominees. If you receive gross proceeds as a nominee 

(that is, the gross proceeds are in your name but actually 

belong to someone else), see the Instructions for Form 

8949 for how to report these amounts on Form 8949.

File Form 1099-B or Form 1099-S with the IRS. If 

you received gross proceeds as a nominee in 2023, you 

must file a Form 1099-B or Form 1099-S for those proceeds with the IRS. Send the Form 1099-B or Form 

1099-S with a Form 1096 to your Internal Revenue Service Center by February 28, 2024 (April 1, 2024, if you file 

Form 1099-B or Form 1099-S electronically). Give the actual owner of the proceeds Copy B of the Form 1099-B or 

Form 1099-S by February 15, 2024. On Form 1099-B, you 

should be listed as the “Payer.” The actual owner should 

be listed as the “Recipient.” On Form 1099-S, you should 

be listed as the “Filer.” The actual owner should be listed 

as the “Transferor.” You do not have to file a Form 1099-B 

or Form 1099-S to show proceeds for your spouse. For 

more information about the reporting requirements and 

the penalties for failure to file (or furnish) certain information returns, see the General Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

Sale of property bought at various times. If you sell a 

block of stock or other property that you bought at various 

times, report the short-term gain or loss from the sale on 

one row in Part I of Form 8949 and the long-term gain or 

loss on one row in Part II of Form 8949. Enter “Various” in 

column (b) for the “Date acquired.”

Sale expenses. On Form 8949, include in column (g) 

any expense of sale, such as broker's fees, commissions, 

state and local transfer taxes, and option premiums, unless you reported the net sales price in column (d). If you 

include an expense of sale in column (g), enter “E” in column (f).

Short-term gains and losses. Capital gain or loss on 

the sale or trade of investment property held 1 year or less 

is a short-term capital gain or loss. You report it in Part I of 

Form 8949.

You combine your share of short-term capital gain or 

loss from partnerships, S corporations, and fiduciaries, 

and any short-term capital loss carryover, with your other 

short-term capital gains and losses to figure your net 

short-term capital gain or loss on line 7 of Schedule D 

(Form 1040).

Long-term gains and losses. A capital gain or loss on 

the sale or trade of investment property held more than 1 

year is a long-term capital gain or loss. You report it in Part 

II of Form 8949.

You also report the following in Part II of Schedule D 

(Form 1040).

• Undistributed long-term capital gains from a mutual 

fund (or other regulated investment company) or REIT.

• Your share of long-term capital gains or losses from 

partnerships, S corporations, and fiduciaries.

• All capital gain distributions from mutual funds and 

REITs not reported directly on Form 1040, line 7.

• Long-term capital loss carryovers.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 99
The result after combining these items with your other 

long-term capital gains and losses is your net long-term 

capital gain or loss (line 15 of Schedule D (Form 1040)).

Total net gain or loss. To figure your total net gain or 

loss, combine your net short-term capital gain or loss 

(Schedule D (Form 1040), line 7) with your net long-term 

capital gain or loss (Schedule D (Form 1040), line 15). Enter the result on Schedule D (Form 1040), Part III, line 16. 

If your losses are more than your gains, see Capital Losses, next. If both lines 15 and 16 of your Schedule D 

(Form 1040) are gains and your taxable income on your 

Form 1040 is greater than zero, see Capital Gain Tax 

Rates, later.

Capital Losses

If your capital losses are more than your capital gains, you 

can claim a capital loss deduction. Report the deduction 

on Form 1040, line 7, enclosed in parentheses.

Limit on deduction. Your allowable capital loss deduction, figured on Schedule D (Form 1040), is the lesser of:

• $3,000 ($1,500 if you are married and file a separate 

return), or

• Your total net loss as shown on line 16 of Schedule D 

(Form 1040).

You can use your total net loss to reduce your income dollar for dollar, up to the $3,000 limit.

Capital loss carryover. If you have a total net loss on 

line 16 of Schedule D (Form 1040) that is more than the 

yearly limit on capital loss deductions, you can carry over 

the unused part to the next year and treat it as if you had 

incurred it in that next year. If part of the loss is still unused, you can carry it over to later years until it is completely used up.

When you figure the amount of any capital loss carryover to the next year, you must take the current year's allowable deduction into account, whether or not you 

claimed it and whether or not you filed a return for the current year.

When you carry over a loss, it remains long term or 

short term. A long-term capital loss you carry over to the 

next tax year will reduce that year's long-term capital gains 

before it reduces that year's short-term capital gains.

Figuring your carryover. The amount of your capital 

loss carryover is the amount of your total net loss that is 

more than the lesser of:

1. Your allowable capital loss deduction for the year, or

2. Your taxable income increased by your allowable capital loss deduction for the year.

If your deductions are more than your gross income for 

the tax year, use your negative taxable income in figuring 

the amount in (2) above.

Complete Worksheet 4-1 to determine the part of your 

capital loss that you can carry over.

Worksheet 4-1. Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet Keep for Your Records

Use this worksheet to figure your capital loss carryovers from 2023 to 2024 if Schedule D (Form 1040), line 21, is a loss 

and (a) that loss is a smaller loss than the loss on Schedule D (Form 1040), line 16, or (b) if the amount on your 2023 

Form 1040, line 15, would be less than zero if you could enter a negative amount on that line. Otherwise, you do not have 

any carryovers.

1. Enter the amount from Form 1040, line 15. If the amount would have been a loss, if you could enter a 

negative number on that line, enclose the amount in parentheses ............................... 1.

2. Enter the loss from Schedule D (Form 1040), line 21, as a positive amount ........................ 2.

3. Combine lines 1 and 2. If zero or less, enter -0- ............................................... 3.

4. Enter the smaller of line 2 or line 3 ......................................................... 4.

If line 7 of Schedule D is a loss, go to line 5; otherwise, enter -0- on line 5 and go to line 9.

5. Enter the loss from Schedule D (Form 1040), line 7, as a positive amount ......................... 5.

6. Enter any gain from Schedule D (Form 1040), line 15. If a loss, enter -0- ........... 6.

7. Add lines 4 and 6 ....................................................................... 7.

8. Short-term capital loss carryover to 2024. Subtract line 7 from line 5. If zero or less, enter -0- ...... 8.

If line 15 of Schedule D is a loss, go to line 9; otherwise, skip lines 9 through 13.

9. Enter the loss from Schedule D (Form 1040), line 15, as a positive amount ........................ 9.

10. Enter any gain from Schedule D (Form 1040), line 7. If a loss, enter -0- ............ 10.

11. Subtract line 5 from line 4. If zero or less, enter -0- ............................. 11.

12. Add lines 10 and 11 ..................................................................... 12.

13. Long-term capital loss carryover to 2024. Subtract line 12 from line 9. If zero or less, enter -0- ..... 13.

100 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
Example. Bob and Shelly sold securities in 2023. The 

sales resulted in a capital loss of $7,000. They had no 

other capital transactions. Their taxable income was 

$26,000. On their joint 2023 return, they can deduct 

$3,000. The unused part of the loss, $4,000 ($7,000 − 

$3,000), can be carried over to 2024.

If their capital loss had been $2,000, their capital loss 

deduction would have been $2,000. They would have no 

carryover.

Use short-term losses first. When you figure your 

capital loss carryover, use your short-term capital losses 

first, even if you incurred them after a long-term capital 

loss. If you have not reached the limit on the capital loss 

deduction after using the short-term capital losses, use 

the long-term capital losses until you reach the limit.

Decedent's capital loss. A capital loss sustained by a 

decedent during his or her last tax year (or carried over to 

that year from an earlier year) can be deducted only on 

the final income tax return filed for the decedent. The capital loss limits discussed earlier still apply in this situation. 

The decedent's estate cannot deduct any of the loss or 

carry it over to following years.

Joint and separate returns. If you and your spouse 

once filed separate returns and are now filing a joint return, combine your separate capital loss carryovers. However, if you and your spouse once filed a joint return and 

are now filing separate returns, any capital loss carryover 

from the joint return can be deducted only on the return of 

the spouse who actually had the loss.

Capital Gain Tax Rates

The tax rates that apply to a net capital gain are generally 

lower than the tax rates that apply to other income. These 

lower rates are called the maximum capital gain rates.

The term “net capital gain” means the amount by which 

your net long-term capital gain for the year is more than 

your net short-term capital loss.

For 2023, the maximum capital gain rates are 0%, 15%, 

20%, 25%, and 28%. See Table 4-4 for details.

If you figure your tax using the maximum capital 

gain rate and the regular tax computation results 

in a lower tax, the regular tax computation applies.

Example. All of your net capital gain is from selling 

collectibles, so the capital gain rate would be 28%. If you 

are otherwise subject to a rate lower than 28%, the 28% 

rate does not apply.

Investment interest deducted. If you claim a deduction 

for investment interest, you may have to reduce the 

amount of your net capital gain that is eligible for the 

capital gain tax rates. Reduce it by the amount of the net 

TIP

Table 4-4. What Is Your Maximum Capital Gain Rate?

IF your net capital gain is from... AND...

THEN your maximum 

capital gain rate is...

collectibles gain 28%

eligible gain on qualified small business stock minus 

the section 1202 exclusion 28%

unrecaptured section 1250 gain 25%

other gain1 and the regular tax rate that would apply is 

37%

your taxable income is...

$553,851 or more if married filing jointly or surviving 

spouse;

$523,051 or more if head of household;

$276,901 or more if married filing separately;

$492,301 or more if single; or

$14,651 or more if estate or trust... 20%

other gain1 and the regular tax rate that would apply is 

22%, 24%, 32%, or 35% 

your taxable income is...

$89,251 – $553,850 if married filing jointly or surviving 

spouse;

$59,751 – $523,050 if head of household;

$44,626 – $276,900 if married filing separately;

$44,626 – $492,300 if single; or

$3,001 – $14,650 if estate or trust... 15%

other gain1 and the regular tax rate that would apply is 

10% or 12%

your taxable income is...

$0 – $89,250 if married filing jointly or surviving 

spouse;

$0 – $59,750 if head of household;

$0 – $44,625 if married filing separately;

$0 – $44,625 if single; or

$0 – $3,000 if estate or trust... 0%

1

 “Other gain” means any gain that is not collectibles gain, gain on small business stock, or unrecaptured section 1250 gain.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property 101
capital gain you choose to include in investment income 

when figuring the limit on your investment interest deduction. This is done on the Schedule D Tax Worksheet or the 

Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet. For 

more information about the limit on investment interest, 

see Interest Expenses in chapter 3.

28% rate gain. This gain includes gain or loss from the 

sale of collectibles and the eligible gain from the sale of 

qualified small business stock minus the section 1202 exclusion.

Collectibles gain or loss. This is gain or loss from the 

sale or trade of a work of art, rug, antique, metal (such as 

gold, silver, and platinum bullion), gem, stamp, coin, or alcoholic beverage held more than 1 year.

Collectibles gain includes gain from the sale of an interest in a partnership, S corporation, or trust due to unrealized appreciation of collectibles.

Gain on qualified small business stock. If you realized a gain from qualified small business stock that you 

held more than 5 years, you can generally exclude some 

or all of your gain under section 1202. The eligible gain minus your section 1202 exclusion is a 28% rate gain. See 

Gains on Qualified Small Business Stock, earlier in this 

chapter.

Unrecaptured section 1250 gain. Generally, this is any 

part of your capital gain from selling section 1250 property 

(real property) that is due to depreciation (but not more 

than your net section 1231 gain), reduced by any net loss 

in the 28% group. Use the Unrecaptured Section 1250 

Gain Worksheet in the Schedule D (Form 1040) instructions to figure your unrecaptured section 1250 gain. For 

more information about section 1250 property and section 

1231 gain, see chapter 3 of Pub. 544.

Tax computation using maximum capital gain rates. 

Use the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet or the Schedule D Tax Worksheet (whichever applies) to figure your tax if you have qualified dividends or 

net capital gain. You have net capital gain if Schedule D 

(Form 1040), lines 15 and 16, are both gains.

Schedule D Tax Worksheet. Use the Schedule D 

Tax Worksheet in the Schedule D (Form 1040) instructions 

to figure your tax if:

• You have to file Schedule D (Form 1040); and

• Schedule D (Form 1040), line 18 (28% rate gain) or 

line 19 (unrecaptured section 1250 gain), is more than 

zero.

Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet. If you do not have to use the Schedule D Tax 

Worksheet (as explained above) and any of the following 

apply, use the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax 

Worksheet in the Instructions for Form 1040 to figure your 

tax.

• You received qualified dividends. (See Qualified Dividends in chapter 1.)

• You do not have to file Schedule D (Form 1040) and 

you received capital gain distributions. (See Exceptions to filing Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 

1040 ), earlier.)

• Schedule D (Form 1040), lines 15 and 16, are both 

more than zero.

Alternative minimum tax. These capital gain rates are 

also used in figuring alternative minimum tax.

Special Rules for

Traders in Securities

or Commodities

Special rules apply if you are a trader in securities or commodities in the business of buying and selling securities or 

commodities for your own account. To be engaged in business as a trader in securities or commodities, you must 

meet all the following conditions.

• You must seek to profit from daily market movements 

in the prices of securities or commodities and not from 

dividends, interest, or capital appreciation.

• Your activity must be substantial.

• You must carry on the activity with continuity and regularity.

The following facts and circumstances should be considered in determining if your activity is a securities or 

commodities trading business.

• Typical holding periods for securities or commodities 

bought and sold.

• The frequency and dollar amount of your trades during 

the year.

• The extent to which you pursue the activity to produce 

income for a livelihood.

• The amount of time you devote to the activity.

If your trading activities do not meet the above definition of a business, you are considered an investor, and not 

a trader. It does not matter whether you call yourself a 

trader or a “day trader.”

How To Report

Transactions from trading activities result in capital gains 

and losses (unless a section 475(f) election has been 

made) and must be reported on Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040), as appropriate. Losses from these 

transactions are subject to the limit on capital losses explained earlier in this chapter.

Mark-to-market election made. If you made the section 

475(f) mark-to-market election, you should report all gains 

and losses from trading as ordinary gains and losses in 

Part II of Form 4797, instead of as capital gains and losses 

on Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040). In that case, 

102 Chapter 4 Sales and Trades of Investment Property Publication 550 (2023)
securities or commodities (depending upon which election 

was made) held at the end of the year in your business as 

a trader are marked to market by treating them as if they 

were sold for fair market value on the last business day of 

the year and gain or loss is recognized. But do not mark to 

market any securities or commodities you held for investment. Report sales from those securities or commodities 

on Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040), as appropriate, not Form 4797. See the Instructions for Form 8949 

and the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040).

Note. You may be a trader in some securities or commodities and have some securities or commodities that 

are not held in connection with your activities as a trader, 

such as those held for investment. The special rules for 

marking to market discussed here do not apply to the securities or commodities held for investment. You must 

keep detailed records to distinguish those securities or 

commodities. The securities or commodities held for investment must be identified as such in your records on the 

day you acquired them (for example, by holding them in a 

separate brokerage account) specifically identified under 

section 475.

Expenses. Interest expense and other investment expenses that an investor would deduct on Schedule A 

(Form 1040) are deducted by a trader on Schedule C 

(Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business, if the expenses are from the trading business. Commissions and other 

costs of acquiring or disposing of securities or commodities (depending upon which election was made) are not 

deductible but must be used to figure gain or loss. The 

limit on investment interest expense, which applies to investors, does not apply to interest paid or incurred in a 

trading business.

Self-employment tax. Gains and losses from selling securities or commodities as a trader are not subject to 

self-employment tax. This is true whether the election is 

made or not. For an exception that applies to section 1256 

contracts, see Self-Employment Income, earlier.

How To Make the

Mark-to-Market Election

To make the mark-to-market election for 2024, you must 

have filed an election statement no later than the due date 

for your 2023 return (without regard to extensions). The 

statement must be attached to that return or with a properly filed request for extension of time to file that 2023 return (Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of 

Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return). The 

statement must have included the following information.

• That you are making an election under section 475(f)

(1) or (f)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code.

• The first tax year for which the election is effective.

• The trade or business for which you are making the 

election.

If you are a new taxpayer and not required to file a 2023 

income tax return, you make the election for 2023 by 

placing the above statement in your books and records no 

later than March 15, 2024. Attach a copy of the statement 

to your 2024 return.

If your method of accounting for 2023 is inconsistent 

with the mark-to-market election, you must change your 

method of accounting for securities under Revenue Procedure 2023-24 (or its successor), available at IRS.gov/irb/

2023-28_IRB#REV-PROC-2023-24. Revenue Procedure 

2023-24 requires you to file Form 3115, Application for 

Change in Accounting Method. Follow its instructions. Enter “64” on line 1a of the Form 3115.

If you made a mark-to-market election within 5 taxable 

years of revoking a prior election, you can resume the 

mark-to-market election of the new election. To restart the 

mark-to-market election, you must file an election statement no later than the due date for your 2023 return (without regard to extensions) under Revenue Procedure 

99-17, sections 5.03 and 5.04 and follow the non-automatic change procedures to request a change in method 

of accounting as described in Rev. Proc. 2015-13.

Once you make the election, it will apply to 2024 and all 

later tax years, unless you get permission from the IRS to 

revoke it. The effect of making the election is described 

under Mark-to-market election made, earlier.

If you want to revoke a prior mark-to-market election 

within the 5 taxable years ending with the year of change 

for the election, you must follow the non-automatic change 

procedures in Revenue Procedure 2015-13 and Revenue 

Procedure 2023-24, section 24.02(9).

For more information on this election, see Revenue 

Procedure 99-17, on page 52 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 

1999-7 at IRS.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb99-07.pdf.

For information about method of accounting using the 

non-automatic change, see Revenue Procedure 2015-13 

in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2015-5, available at 

IRS.gov/irb/2015-05_IRB#RP-2015-13 and Revenue Procedure 2023-24 in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-28, 

available at IRS.gov/irb/2023-28_IRB#REVPROC-2023-24.

5.

How To Get Tax Help

If you have questions about a tax issue; need help preparing your tax return; or want to download free publications, 

forms, or instructions, go to IRS.gov to find resources that 

can help you right away.

Preparing and filing your tax return. After receiving all 

your wage and earnings statements (Forms W-2, W-2G, 

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 5 How To Get Tax Help 103
1099-R, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, etc.); unemployment 

compensation statements (by mail or in a digital format) or 

other government payment statements (Form 1099-G); 

and interest, dividend, and retirement statements from 

banks and investment firms (Forms 1099), you have several options to choose from to prepare and file your tax return. You can prepare the tax return yourself, see if you 

qualify for free tax preparation, or hire a tax professional to 

prepare your return.

Free options for tax preparation. Your options for preparing and filing your return online or in your local community, if you qualify, include the following.

• Free File. This program lets you prepare and file your 

federal individual income tax return for free using software or Free File Fillable Forms. However, state tax 

preparation may not be available through Free File. Go 

to IRS.gov/FreeFile to see if you qualify for free online 

federal tax preparation, e-filing, and direct deposit or 

payment options.

• VITA. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) 

program offers free tax help to people with 

low-to-moderate incomes, persons with disabilities, 

and limited-English-speaking taxpayers who need 

help preparing their own tax returns. Go to IRS.gov/

VITA, download the free IRS2Go app, or call 

800-906-9887 for information on free tax return preparation.

• TCE. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly 

those who are 60 years of age and older. TCE volunteers specialize in answering questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors. 

Go to IRS.gov/TCE or download the free IRS2Go app 

for information on free tax return preparation.

• MilTax. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and qualified veterans may use MilTax, a free tax service offered by the Department of Defense through Military 

OneSource. For more information, go to 

MilitaryOneSource (MilitaryOneSource.mil/MilTax).

Also, the IRS offers Free Fillable Forms, which can 

be completed online and then e-filed regardless of income.

Using online tools to help prepare your return. Go to 

IRS.gov/Tools for the following.

• The Earned Income Tax Credit Assistant (IRS.gov/

EITCAssistant) determines if you’re eligible for the 

earned income credit (EIC).

• The Online EIN Application (IRS.gov/EIN) helps you 

get an employer identification number (EIN) at no 

cost.

• The Tax Withholding Estimator (IRS.gov/W4App) 

makes it easier for you to estimate the federal income 

tax you want your employer to withhold from your paycheck. This is tax withholding. See how your withholding affects your refund, take-home pay, or tax due.

• The First-Time Homebuyer Credit Account Look-up 

(IRS.gov/HomeBuyer) tool provides information on 

your repayments and account balance.

• The Sales Tax Deduction Calculator (IRS.gov/

SalesTax) figures the amount you can claim if you 

itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040).

Getting answers to your tax questions. On 

IRS.gov, you can get up-to-date information on 

current events and changes in tax law.

• IRS.gov/Help: A variety of tools to help you get answers to some of the most common tax questions.

• IRS.gov/ITA: The Interactive Tax Assistant, a tool that 

will ask you questions and, based on your input, provide answers on a number of tax topics.

• IRS.gov/Forms: Find forms, instructions, and publications. You will find details on the most recent tax 

changes and interactive links to help you find answers 

to your questions.

• You may also be able to access tax information in your 

e-filing software.

Need someone to prepare your tax return? There are 

various types of tax return preparers, including enrolled 

agents, certified public accountants (CPAs), accountants, 

and many others who don’t have professional credentials. 

If you choose to have someone prepare your tax return, 

choose that preparer wisely. A paid tax preparer is:

• Primarily responsible for the overall substantive accuracy of your return,

• Required to sign the return, and

• Required to include their preparer tax identification 

number (PTIN).

Although the tax preparer always signs the return, 

you're ultimately responsible for providing all the 

information required for the preparer to accurately 

prepare your return and for the accuracy of every item reported on the return. Anyone paid to prepare tax returns 

for others should have a thorough understanding of tax 

matters. For more information on how to choose a tax preparer, go to Tips for Choosing a Tax Preparer on IRS.gov.

Employers can register to use Business Services Online. The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers online service at SSA.gov/employer for fast, free, and secure 

W-2 filing options to CPAs, accountants, enrolled agents, 

and individuals who process Form W-2, Wage and Tax 

Statement, and Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax 

Statement.

IRS social media. Go to IRS.gov/SocialMedia to see the 

various social media tools the IRS uses to share the latest 

information on tax changes, scam alerts, initiatives, products, and services. At the IRS, privacy and security are our 

highest priority. We use these tools to share public 

CAUTION

!

104 Chapter 5 How To Get Tax Help Publication 550 (2023)
information with you. Don’t post your social security number (SSN) or other confidential information on social media sites. Always protect your identity when using any social networking site.

The following IRS YouTube channels provide short, informative videos on various tax-related topics in English, 

Spanish, and ASL.

• Youtube.com/irsvideos.

• Youtube.com/irsvideosmultilingua.

• Youtube.com/irsvideosASL.

Watching IRS videos. The IRS Video portal 

(IRSVideos.gov) contains video and audio presentations 

for individuals, small businesses, and tax professionals.

Online tax information in other languages. You can 

find information on IRS.gov/MyLanguage if English isn’t 

your native language.

Free Over-the-Phone Interpreter (OPI) Service. The 

IRS is committed to serving taxpayers with limited-English 

proficiency (LEP) by offering OPI services. The OPI Service is a federally funded program and is available at Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs), most IRS offices, and 

every VITA/TCE tax return site. The OPI Service is accessible in more than 350 languages.

Accessibility Helpline available for taxpayers with 

disabilities. Taxpayers who need information about accessibility services can call 833-690-0598. The Accessibility Helpline can answer questions related to current and 

future accessibility products and services available in alternative media formats (for example, braille, large print, 

audio, etc.). The Accessibility Helpline does not have access to your IRS account. For help with tax law, refunds, or 

account-related issues, go to IRS.gov/LetUsHelp.

Note. Form 9000, Alternative Media Preference, or 

Form 9000(SP) allows you to elect to receive certain types 

of written correspondence in the following formats.

• Standard Print.

• Large Print.

• Braille.

• Audio (MP3).

• Plain Text File (TXT).

• Braille Ready File (BRF).

Disasters. Go to IRS.gov/DisasterRelief to review the 

available disaster tax relief.

Getting tax forms and publications. Go to IRS.gov/

Forms to view, download, or print all the forms, instructions, and publications you may need. Or, you can go to 

IRS.gov/OrderForms to place an order.

Getting tax publications and instructions in eBook 

format. Download and view most tax publications and instructions (including the Instructions for Form 1040) on 

mobile devices as eBooks at IRS.gov/eBooks.

IRS eBooks have been tested using Apple's iBooks for 

iPad. Our eBooks haven’t been tested on other dedicated 

eBook readers, and eBook functionality may not operate 

as intended.

Access your online account (individual taxpayers 

only). Go to IRS.gov/Account to securely access information about your federal tax account.

• View the amount you owe and a breakdown by tax 

year.

• See payment plan details or apply for a new payment 

plan.

• Make a payment or view 5 years of payment history 

and any pending or scheduled payments.

• Access your tax records, including key data from your 

most recent tax return, and transcripts.

• View digital copies of select notices from the IRS.

• Approve or reject authorization requests from tax professionals.

• View your address on file or manage your communication preferences.

Get a transcript of your return. With an online account, 

you can access a variety of information to help you during 

the filing season. You can get a transcript, review your 

most recently filed tax return, and get your adjusted gross 

income. Create or access your online account at IRS.gov/

Account.

Tax Pro Account. This tool lets your tax professional 

submit an authorization request to access your individual 

taxpayer IRS online account. For more information, go to 

IRS.gov/TaxProAccount.

Using direct deposit. The safest and easiest way to receive a tax refund is to e-file and choose direct deposit, 

which securely and electronically transfers your refund directly into your financial account. Direct deposit also 

avoids the possibility that your check could be lost, stolen, 

destroyed, or returned undeliverable to the IRS. Eight in 

10 taxpayers use direct deposit to receive their refunds. If 

you don’t have a bank account, go to IRS.gov/

DirectDeposit for more information on where to find a bank 

or credit union that can open an account online.

Reporting and resolving your tax-related identity 

theft issues. 

• Tax-related identity theft happens when someone 

steals your personal information to commit tax fraud. 

Your taxes can be affected if your SSN is used to file a 

fraudulent return or to claim a refund or credit.

• The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by 

email, text messages (including shortened links), telephone calls, or social media channels to request or 

verify personal or financial information. This includes 

requests for personal identification numbers (PINs), 

passwords, or similar information for credit cards, 

banks, or other financial accounts.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 5 How To Get Tax Help 105
• Go to IRS.gov/IdentityTheft, the IRS Identity Theft 

Central webpage, for information on identity theft and 

data security protection for taxpayers, tax professionals, and businesses. If your SSN has been lost or 

stolen or you suspect you’re a victim of tax-related 

identity theft, you can learn what steps you should 

take.

• Get an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN). IP PINs are 

six-digit numbers assigned to taxpayers to help prevent the misuse of their SSNs on fraudulent federal income tax returns. When you have an IP PIN, it prevents someone else from filing a tax return with your 

SSN. To learn more, go to IRS.gov/IPPIN.

Ways to check on the status of your refund. 

• Go to IRS.gov/Refunds.

• Download the official IRS2Go app to your mobile device to check your refund status.

• Call the automated refund hotline at 800-829-1954.

The IRS can’t issue refunds before mid-February 

for returns that claimed the EIC or the additional 

child tax credit (ACTC). This applies to the entire 

refund, not just the portion associated with these credits.

Making a tax payment. Payments of U.S. tax must be 

remitted to the IRS in U.S. dollars. Digital assets are not 

accepted. Go to IRS.gov/Payments for information on how 

to make a payment using any of the following options.

• IRS Direct Pay: Pay your individual tax bill or estimated 

tax payment directly from your checking or savings account at no cost to you.

• Debit Card, Credit Card, or Digital Wallet: Choose an 

approved payment processor to pay online or by 

phone.

• Electronic Funds Withdrawal: Schedule a payment 

when filing your federal taxes using tax return preparation software or through a tax professional.

• Electronic Federal Tax Payment System: Best option 

for businesses. Enrollment is required.

• Check or Money Order: Mail your payment to the address listed on the notice or instructions.

• Cash: You may be able to pay your taxes with cash at 

a participating retail store.

• Same-Day Wire: You may be able to do same-day 

wire from your financial institution. Contact your financial institution for availability, cost, and time frames.

Note. The IRS uses the latest encryption technology to 

ensure that the electronic payments you make online, by 

phone, or from a mobile device using the IRS2Go app are 

safe and secure. Paying electronically is quick, easy, and 

faster than mailing in a check or money order.

CAUTION

!

What if I can’t pay now? Go to IRS.gov/Payments for 

more information about your options.

• Apply for an online payment agreement (IRS.gov/

OPA) to meet your tax obligation in monthly installments if you can’t pay your taxes in full today. Once 

you complete the online process, you will receive immediate notification of whether your agreement has 

been approved.

• Use the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier to see if 

you can settle your tax debt for less than the full 

amount you owe. For more information on the Offer in 

Compromise program, go to IRS.gov/OIC.

Filing an amended return. Go to IRS.gov/Form1040X 

for information and updates.

Checking the status of your amended return. Go to 

IRS.gov/WMAR to track the status of Form 1040-X amended returns.

It can take up to 3 weeks from the date you filed 

your amended return for it to show up in our system, and processing it can take up to 16 weeks.

Understanding an IRS notice or letter you’ve received. Go to IRS.gov/Notices to find additional information about responding to an IRS notice or letter.

Responding to an IRS notice or letter. You can now 

upload responses to all notices and letters using the 

Document Upload Tool. For notices that require additional 

action, taxpayers will be redirected appropriately on 

IRS.gov to take further action. To learn more about the 

tool, go to IRS.gov/Upload.

Note. You can use Schedule LEP (Form 1040), Request for Change in Language Preference, to state a preference to receive notices, letters, or other written communications from the IRS in an alternative language. You may 

not immediately receive written communications in the requested language. The IRS’s commitment to LEP taxpayers is part of a multi-year timeline that began providing 

translations in 2023. You will continue to receive communications, including notices and letters, in English until they 

are translated to your preferred language.

Contacting your local TAC. Keep in mind, many questions can be answered on IRS.gov without visiting a TAC. 

Go to IRS.gov/LetUsHelp for the topics people ask about 

most. If you still need help, TACs provide tax help when a 

tax issue can’t be handled online or by phone. All TACs 

now provide service by appointment, so you’ll know in advance that you can get the service you need without long 

wait times. Before you visit, go to IRS.gov/TACLocator to 

find the nearest TAC and to check hours, available services, and appointment options. Or, on the IRS2Go app, 

under the Stay Connected tab, choose the Contact Us option and click on “Local Offices.”

CAUTION

!

106 Chapter 5 How To Get Tax Help Publication 550 (2023)
The Taxpayer Advocate 

Service (TAS) Is Here To Help 

You

What is TAS? TAS is an independent organization 

within the IRS that helps taxpayers and protects taxpayer 

rights. TAS strives to ensure that every taxpayer is treated 

fairly and that you know and understand your rights under 

the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

How can you learn about your taxpayer rights? The 

Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes 10 basic rights that all 

taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. Go to 

TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov to help you understand what 

these rights mean to you and how they apply. These are 

your rights. Know them. Use them.

What can TAS do for you? TAS can help you resolve 

problems that you can’t resolve with the IRS. And their 

service is free. If you qualify for their assistance, you will 

be assigned to one advocate who will work with you 

throughout the process and will do everything possible to 

resolve your issue. TAS can help you if:

• Your problem is causing financial difficulty for you, 

your family, or your business;

• You face (or your business is facing) an immediate 

threat of adverse action; or

• You’ve tried repeatedly to contact the IRS but no one 

has responded, or the IRS hasn’t responded by the 

date promised.

How can you reach TAS? TAS has offices in every 

state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. To find 

your advocate’s number:

• Go to TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/Contact-Us;

• Download Pub. 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service 

Is Your Voice at the IRS, available at IRS.gov/pub/irspdf/p1546.pdf;

• Call the IRS toll free at 800-TAX-FORM 

(800-829-3676) to order a copy of Pub. 1546;

• Check your local directory; or

• Call TAS toll free at 877-777-4778.

How else does TAS help taxpayers? TAS works to resolve large-scale problems that affect many taxpayers. If 

you know of one of these broad issues, report it to TAS at 

IRS.gov/SAMS. Be sure to not include any personal taxpayer information.

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics 

(LITCs)

LITCs are independent from the IRS and TAS. LITCs represent individuals whose income is below a certain level 

and who need to resolve tax problems with the IRS. LITCs 

can represent taxpayers in audits, appeals, and tax collection disputes before the IRS and in court. In addition, 

LITCs can provide information about taxpayer rights and 

responsibilities in different languages for individuals who 

speak English as a second language. Services are offered 

for free or a small fee. For more information or to find an 

LITC near you, go to the LITC page at 

TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/LITC or see IRS Pub. 4134, 

Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List, at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/

p4134.pdf.

Publication 550 (2023) Chapter 5 How To Get Tax Help 107
Glossary

Accrual method: An accounting 

method under which you report your income when you earn it, whether or not 

you have received it. You generally deduct your expenses when you incur a 

liability for them, rather than when you 

pay them.

At-risk rules: Rules that limit the 

amount of loss you may deduct to the 

amount you risk losing in the activity.

Basis: Basis is the amount of your investment in property for tax purposes. 

The basis of property you buy is usually the cost. Basis is used to figure 

gain or loss on the sale or disposition 

of investment property.

Below-market loan: A demand loan 

(defined later) on which interest is payable at a rate below the applicable federal rate, or a term loan where the 

amount loaned is more than the 

present value of all payments due under the loan.

Call: An option that entitles the purchaser to buy, at any time before a 

specified future date, property such as 

a stated number of shares of stock at a 

specified price.

Cash method: An accounting method 

under which you report your income in 

the year in which you actually or constructively receive it. You generally deduct your expenses in the year you pay 

them.

Commodities trader: A person who 

is actively engaged in trading section 

1256 contracts and is registered with a 

domestic board of trade designated as 

a contract market by the Commodities 

Futures Trading Commission.

Commodity future: A contract made 

on a commodity exchange, calling for 

the sale or purchase of a fixed amount 

of a commodity at a future date for a 

fixed price.

Covered security: Covered securities 

are certain securities subject to added 

reporting by your broker on any Form 

1099-B you may receive. See the 

Instructions for Form 1099-B for more 

details.

Conversion transaction: Any transaction that you entered into after April 

30, 1993, that meets both of these 

tests:

1. Substantially all of your expected 

return from the transaction is due 

to the time value of your net investment.

2. The transaction is one of the following:

a. A straddle, including any set of 

offsetting positions on stock.

b. Any transaction in which you 

acquire property (whether or 

not actively traded) at substantially the same time that you 

contract to sell the same property or substantially identical 

property at a price set in the 

contract.

c. Any other transaction that is 

marketed or sold as producing 

capital gains from a transaction 

described in (1).

Demand loan: A loan payable in full at 

any time upon demand by the lender.

Dividend: A distribution of money or 

other property made by a corporation 

to its shareholders out of its earnings 

and profits.

Equity option: Any option:

• To buy or sell stock, or

• That is valued directly or indirectly 

by reference to any stock or narrow-based security index.

Fair market value: The price at which 

property would change hands between 

a willing buyer and a willing seller, both 

having reasonable knowledge of the 

relevant facts.

Forgone interest: The amount of interest that would be payable for any period if interest accrued at the applicable 

federal rate and was payable annually 

on December 31, minus any interest 

payable on the loan for that period.

Forward contract: A contract to deliver a substantially fixed amount of 

property (including cash) for a substantially fixed price.

Futures contract: An exchange-traded contract to buy or sell a specified 

commodity or financial instrument at a 

specified price at a specified future 

date. See also Commodity future.

Gift loan: Any below-market loan 

where the forgone interest is in the nature of a gift.

Interest: Compensation for the use or 

forbearance of money.

Investment interest: The interest you 

paid or accrued on money you borrowed that is allocable to property held 

for investment.

Limited partner: A partner whose 

participation in partnership activities is 

restricted, and whose personal liability 

for partnership debts is limited to the 

amount of money or other property that 

they contributed or may have to contribute.

Listed option: Any option (other than 

a right to acquire stock from the issuer) 

that is traded on (or subject to the rules 

of) a qualified board or exchange.

Marked-to-market rule: The treatment of each section 1256 contract 

(defined later) held by a taxpayer at the 

close of the year as if it were sold for its 

fair market value on the last business 

day of the year.

Market discount: The stated redemption price of a bond at maturity minus 

your basis in the bond immediately after you acquire it. Market discount arises when the value of a debt obligation 

decreases after its issue date.

Market discount bond: Any bond 

having market discount except:

• Short-term obligations with fixed 

maturity dates of up to 1 year from 

the date of issue,

• Tax-exempt obligations that you 

bought before May 1, 1993,

108 Publication 550 (2023)
• U.S. savings bonds, and

• Certain installment obligations.

Mutual fund: A mutual fund is a regulated investment company generally 

created by “pooling” funds of investors 

to allow them to take advantage of diversity of investments and professional 

management.

Nominee: A person who receives, in 

their name, income that actually belongs to someone else.

Noncovered security: Noncovered 

securities are securities that are not 

subject to added reporting by your 

broker on any Form 1099-B you may 

receive. See the Instructions for Form 

1099-B for more details.

Nonequity option: Any listed option 

that is not an equity option, such as 

debt options, commodity futures options, currency options, and 

broad-based stock index options.

Options dealer: Any person registered with an appropriate national securities exchange as a market maker or 

specialist in listed options.

Original issue discount (OID): The 

amount by which the stated redemption price at maturity of a debt instrument is more than its issue price.

Passive activity: An activity involving 

the conduct of a trade or business in 

which you do not materially participate 

and any rental activity. However, the 

rental of real estate is not a passive activity if both of the following are true:

• More than one-half of the personal 

services you perform during the 

year in all trades or businesses are 

performed in real property trades 

or businesses in which you materially participate.

• You perform more than 750 hours 

of services during the year in real 

property trades or businesses in 

which you materially participate.

Portfolio income: Gross income from 

interest, dividends, annuities, or royalties that is not derived in the ordinary 

course of a trade or business. It includes gains from the sale or trade of 

property (other than an interest in a 

passive activity) producing portfolio 

income or held for investment.

Premium: The amount by which your 

cost or other basis in a bond right after 

you get it is more than the total of all 

amounts payable on the bond after you 

get it (other than payments of qualified 

stated interest).

Private activity bond: A bond that is 

part of a state or local government 

bond issue of which:

1. More than 10% of the proceeds 

are to be used for a private business use, and

2. More than 10% of the payment of 

the principal or interest is:

a. Secured by an interest in property to be used for a private 

business use (or payments for 

the property), or

b. Derived from payments for 

property (or borrowed money) 

used for a private business 

use.

Put: An option that entitles the purchaser to sell, at any time before a 

specified future date, property such as 

a stated number of shares of stock at a 

specified price.

Real estate mortgage investment 

conduit (REMIC): An entity that is 

formed for the purpose of holding a 

fixed pool of mortgages secured by interests in real property, with multiple 

classes of interests held by investors. 

These interests may be either regular 

or residual.

Regulated futures contract: A section 1256 contract that:

• Provides that amounts that must be 

deposited to, or may be withdrawn 

from, your margin account depend 

on daily market conditions (a system of marking to market); and

• Is traded on, or subject to the rules 

of, a qualified board of exchange, 

such as a domestic board of trade 

designated as a contract market by 

the Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission or any board of trade 

or exchange approved by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Restricted stock: Stock you get for 

services you perform that is nontransferable and is subject to a substantial 

risk of forfeiture.

Section 1256 contract: Any:

• Regulated futures contract,

• Foreign currency contract as defined in chapter 4 under Foreign 

currency contract,

• Nonequity option,

• Dealer equity option, or

• Dealer securities futures contract.

A section 1256 contract does not include certain swaps as listed in Exceptions under Section 1256 Contracts 

Marked to Market in chapter 4.

Securities futures contract: A contract of sale for future delivery of a single security or of a narrow-based security index.

Short sale: The sale of property that 

you generally do not own. You borrow 

the property to deliver to a buyer and, 

at a later date, you buy substantially 

identical property and deliver it to the 

lender.

Straddle: Generally, a set of offsetting 

positions on personal property. A straddle may consist of a purchased option 

to buy and a purchased option to sell 

on the same number of shares of the 

security, with the same exercise price 

and period.

Stripped preferred stock: Stock that 

meets the following tests:

1. There has been a separation in 

ownership between the stock and 

any dividend on the stock that has 

not become payable.

2. The stock:

a. Is limited and preferred as to 

dividends,

b. Does not participate in corporate growth to any significant 

extent, and

c. Has a fixed redemption price.

Term loan: Any loan that is not a demand loan.

Wash sale: A sale of stock or securities at a loss within 30 days before or 

Publication 550 (2023) 109
after you buy or acquire in a fully taxable trade, or acquire a contract or option to buy, substantially identical stock 

or securities.

110 Publication 550 (2023)
To help us develop a more useful index, please let us know if you have ideas for index entries.

Index See “Comments and Suggestions” in the “Introduction” for the ways you can reach us.

A

Abusive tax shelters (See Tax 

shelters)

Accrual method 10, 24, 36, 46, 108

Accuracy-related penalty 6

Acquisition discount 23, 64

Adjusted basis 30, 59, 60, 64

Alaska Permanent Fund 

dividends 33, 48

Amortization of bond premium 49

Annuities:

Borrowing on 50

Interest on 8

Life insurance proceeds used to 

buy 16

Sale of 76

Single-premium 50

Trade for 54, 70

Applicable federal rate 9

Appreciated financial positions 54

Arbitrage bonds 17

Assistance (See Tax help)

At-risk rules 45, 98, 108

Automatic investment service 62, 

80

Average basis 66

Double-category method 66

Illustrated 66

B

Backup withholding 4

Bad debts 76, 81

Bankrupt financial institutions:

Deposit in 76

Bargain purchases 59

Basis 58, 71, 108

Adjusted 30, 59, 60, 64

Average 66

Cost 58, 65

Inherited property 60

Investment property 58

Like-kind exchanges 69

Other than cost 58

REITs 61

REMIC, residual interest 37

Replacement stock 96

Shares acquired by 

reinvestment 62

Stocks and bonds 30, 32, 49, 60

Bearer obligations 20, 76

Below-market loans 8, 108

Bonds:

Accrued interest on 26

Amortization of premium 49

Arbitrage 17

Basis 49, 60

Capital asset 74

Convertible 69

Coupon 24

Enterprise zone facility 18

Federally guaranteed 16

Identification 61

Market discount 18, 47, 64, 75, 99, 

108

New York Liberty bonds 18

Par value 64

Premiums on 49, 64, 109

Private activity 17, 109

Redemption or retirement of 54

Sold between interest dates 15

State and local government 74

Stripped 16, 20, 64

Tax credit bonds 17

Tax-exempt 74

Traded flat 8

U.S. savings (See U.S. savings 

bonds)

U.S. Treasury (See U.S. Treasury 

bills, notes, and bonds)

Brokerage fees 99

C

Calls and puts 87, 108

Table 4-3 88

Capital assets 73

Capital gain distributions 30, 34, 

48, 81

Capital gains and losses 73-81

Constructive ownership 

transactions 78

Definition 73

Empowerment zone assets 97

Investment property 74

Long-term 83, 99

Losses, limit on 100

Passive activities 98

Qualified covered call options 91

Qualified small business stock 95

Reporting requirements 91, 96

Short-term 83, 99

Tax rates 101

Table 4-4 101

Capital loss carryover 92, 100

Worksheet 4-1 100

Cash method 10, 23, 46, 108

Reporting options for savings bond 

interest 10

Cash-settled options 56

Casualty losses 76

CDOs (Collateralized debt 

obligations) 37

Certificates of deposit (CDs) 20

Children:

Alaska Permanent Fund 

dividends 48

Capital gain distributions 48

Custodian account for 4

Gifts to 5

Investment income of 3, 48

Qualified dividends 48

Savings account with parent as 

trustee 5

U.S. savings bond owner

Co-owners of U.S. savings 

bonds 11

Collateralized debt obligations 

(CDOs) 37

Collectibles 102

Commissions 61

Commodities traders 108

Commodity futures 77, 81, 108

Community property:

U.S. savings bonds 11

Constructive ownership 

transactions 72, 78

Constructive receipt 23

Constructive sales 54

Contractors, insolvency of 83

Conversion transactions 76, 108

Convertible stocks and bonds 69

Cooperatives, sales of stock to 94

Corporate distributions 27

Capital gain 34, 48, 81

Constructive 31

Dividends (See Dividends)

Fractional shares 32

Liquidating 31, 35

Nondividend 30, 35

Return of capital 30

Stock rights 31

Undistributed capital gains 30

Corporate reorganizations 69

Cost basis 58, 65

Coupon bonds 24

Covered security, defined 108

D

Day traders 102

Dealer equity options 56

Dealer securities futures 

contracts 56

Debt instruments, retirement of 76

Decedents 60, 101

U.S. savings bond interest, reporting 

of 12

Demand loans 108

Demutualization 71

Deposits, loss on 76

Discount on debt instruments 18

Certificates of deposit 20

Election to report all interest as 

OID 23

Face-amount certificates 20

Gain or loss treatment 74

Inflation-indexed 20

Publication 550 (2023) 111
Market discount bonds (See Market 

discount bonds)

Original issue discount 

(See Original issue discount 

(OID))

Short-term obligations 22, 74

Stripped bonds and coupons 20

Discounted debt instruments 18

Discounted tax-exempt 

obligations 64

Dividends 27, 108

(See also Form 1099-DIV)

Alaska Permanent Fund 33, 48

Exempt-interest 7, 33, 81

Extraordinary 84

Holding period 28

Insurance policies 33

Money market funds 30

Nominees 27, 35

Ordinary 28

Patronage 33

Payments in lieu of 84

Qualified 28, 34, 48

Qualified foreign corporation 29

Received in January 28

Reinvestment of 81

Reinvestment plans 30, 62

Reporting requirements 27, 33-35

Restricted stock 34

Sale or trade vs. 53

Scrip 33

Sold stock 28

Stock 62, 80

Underreported 4

Veterans' insurance 7, 33

Divorce 59, 71

E

Education Savings Bond 

Program 14

Interest excluded under 26

Employee stock options 2

Employee stock ownership plans 

(ESOPs), sales of stock to 94

Employer identification numbers 

(EINs) 38

Empowerment zone 97

Endowment contracts 50

Enterprise zone facility bonds 18

Equity option 56, 108

Estate income received by 

beneficiary 3

Exchanges of mutual fund 

shares 70

Exclusion of gain:

DC zone assets 97

Exempt-interest dividends on 

mutual fund stock 81

F

Face-amount certificates 20

Fair market value 59, 65, 108

Federal guarantee on bonds 16

Financial asset securitization 

investment trusts (FASITs) 37

First-in first-out (FIFO) 66

Foreign currency transactions 56

Foreign income 2

Forgone interest 108

Form 1040 or 1040-SR, 

Schedule B 24

Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR 33

Form 1040-X 54

Form 1040, Schedule D 96

Form 1041 39

Form 1065 38

Schedule K-1 39

Form 1066, Schedule Q 37, 51

Form 1096 27, 35, 99

Form 1099-B 52, 98, 99

Covered security, defined 108

Noncovered security, defined 109

Form 1099-CAP 99

Form 1099-DIV 3, 27, 33, 35

Form 1099-INT 3, 6, 13, 24, 27, 36, 

37

Form 1099-MISC 28, 84

Form 1099-OID 7, 19, 25, 36, 37

Form 1099-S 99

Form 1120 39

Form 2439 30

Form 3115 11, 50, 103

Form 4684 76

Form 4797 69, 78, 79

Form 4952 48

Form 6198 98

Form 6781 57, 77, 91, 98

Form 8275 43

Form 8275-R 43

Form 8582 38

Form 8615 3

Form 8815 14, 26

Form 8824 69

Form 8832 38

Form 8886 41, 43

Form 8949:

Bad debts 83

Basis adjustment 30

Capital Gains 97

Capital Losses 97

Cooperative, sale to certain 94

Copyrights in musical works 74

Employee stock ownership plan, 

sale to 94

Empowerment Zone Assets 97

Exempt-interest dividends 81

Form 1099-B 52, 98

Form 1099-CAP 99

Form 1099-S 99

Fractional shares 32

Gain, qualified small business 

stock 97

How to fill in, generally 97

Long-term gains and losses 99

Marked-to-market election 102

Market discount bonds 75, 99

Musical compositions 74

Nominees 99

Nonbusiness bad debt 76

Nondividend distributions 35

Option 87

Property bought at various times 99

Rollover, qualified small business 

stock 96

Sale expenses 99

Short-term gains and losses 99

Software 61

Worthless securities 54

Form SS-4 38

Form W-8BEN 5

Form W-9 4

Forward contracts 108

Fractional shares 32, 80

Frozen deposits 8, 26

Futures contracts:

Definition 108

Regulated 56, 109

Securities 81, 85, 86

Futures, commodity 77, 81, 108

Wash sales 85

G

Gains on qualified small business 

stock 95

Gains on sales or trades 65, 71, 73

(See also Capital gains and losses)

Gifts 5, 59, 80, 108

Gifts of shares 67

Glossary 108

Government obligations 23

H

Hedging transactions 56, 58, 77

Holding period:

Investment property 80

Replacement stock 96

Shares acquired by 

reinvestment 81

Straddles 92

I

Income from sources outside 

U.S. 2

Income tax treaties (Table 1-3) 29

Indian tribal government 16

Individual retirement arrangements 

(IRAs):

Interest income 7

Inflation-indexed debt 

instruments 20, 21

Inherited property:

Basis 60

Holding period 80

Transfer by inheritance 54

Insolvency of contractors 83

Installment sales 98

112 Publication 550 (2023)
Insurance:

Borrowing on 50

Dividends, interest on 8, 33

Interest option on 16

Life insurance companies, 

demutualization 71

Life, paid to beneficiary 16

Prepaid premiums 8

Single-premium life 50

Trades 70

Veterans' dividends, interest on 7, 

33

Interest expenses:

Allocation of 46

Investment interest 46, 108

Limit on 47

When to deduct 46

Margin accounts 47

Paid in advance 47

Straddles 51

Interest income 6

Annuity contracts 8

Bonds traded flat 8

Certificates of deposits 7

Condemnation awards 8

Deferred interest accounts 7

Dividends on deposit or share 

accounts 7

Frozen deposits 8, 26

Gift for opening account 7

Individual retirement arrangements 

(IRAs) 7

Installment sale payments 8

Insurance dividends 8

Money market funds 7

Nominee distributions 7, 11, 13, 27

Prepaid insurance premiums 8

Reporting 23-27

Reporting requirements 24

Seller-financed mortgage 26

Tax refunds 8

Tax-exempt 16, 24

Taxable 7, 8, 15, 16

U.S. savings bonds, person 

responsible for tax (Table 1-2) 12

Underreported 4

Unstated 58

Usurious interest 8

VA insurance dividends 7

Investment clubs 38, 39

Investment expenses 44

Allocated 36

At-risk rules 45

Interest 101

Limits on deductions 45

Nondeductible 50

nonpublicly offered mutual fund or 

REMIC 51

Investment income 2

Children 3, 48

General Information 3

Net income 47

Records to keep 3

Reporting of (Table 1-1) 6

Investment interest expenses:

Reporting requirements 51

Investment property 46

Basis 58

Definition 52

Gain or loss treatment 74

Gift, received as 59

Holding period 80

Liquidation, received in 63

Nontaxable trades, received in 59

Sales and trades 52

Services, received for 59

Spouse, received from 59

Taxable trades, received in 59

J

Joint accounts 5

Joint and separate returns 44, 101

L

Life insurance companies:

demutualization 71

Like-kind exchanges 67, 71

Basis of property received 69

Reporting requirements 69

Limited partners 108

Liquidating distributions 31, 63

Listed options 56, 108

Load charges 61

Loans

Below-market 8, 108

Gift and demand 9, 108

Guarantees 82

Term 9, 109

Local government obligations 

(See State or local government 

obligations)

Long-term capital gains and 

losses 83, 99

Losses on sales or trades 73

(See also Capital gains and losses)

Amount calculation 65

Carryback election 57

Mutual fund or REIT stock held 6 

months or less 81

Passive activities 38, 39, 45, 48

Related parties 72

Section 1244 (small business) 

stock 78

Small business investment 

company stock 79

Wash sales 91

M

Mark-to-market election 102

Marked-to-market rules 56, 102, 

108

Market discount bonds 18, 21, 22, 

47, 64, 75, 99, 108

Accrued market discount 22

Maximum rate of capital gains 

(Table 4-4) 101

Mechanics' and suppliers' liens 82

Missing children, photographs of 2

Mixed straddles 84, 92

Money market funds 30

Interest income 7

Mortgages:

Revenue bonds 17

Secondary liability on home 83

Seller-financed 26

Municipal bonds 16, 24, 74

(See also State or local government 

obligations)

Mutual fund, defined 109

Mutual funds 30, 45, 48, 52, 61, 65, 

81

Individual retirement arrangements 

(IRAs) 2

publicly offered 52

N

Net Investment Income Tax 3

New York Liberty bonds 18

NIIT 3

Nominee distributions:

Dividends 27, 35

Interest income 7, 11, 13, 27

Original issue discount 19

Nominee, defined 109

Nonbusiness bad debts 76, 81

Noncapital assets 73

Noncovered security, defined 109

Nondeductible investment 

expenses 50

Nondividend distributions 30

Nonequity options 56, 109

Nonqualified preferred stock 69

Nonresident aliens:

Backup withholding 5

Nontaxable return of capital 30

Nontaxable stock rights 81

Nontaxable trades 67, 80

Notes:

Individuals, bought at discount 76

U.S. Treasury (See U.S. Treasury 

bills, notes, and bonds)

O

Options 86

Calls and puts 87, 108

Cash settlement 56, 87

Dealer equity 56

Deep-in-the-money 90

Employee stock 2

Equity 56, 108

Gain or loss 86, 90

Holding period 81

Listed 56, 108

Nonequity 56, 109

Qualified covered call 90

Reporting requirements 87

Publication 550 (2023) 113
Section 1256 contracts 55, 87

Wash sales 85

Options dealer 109

Ordinary gains and losses 73, 76

Original issue discount:

Nominee distributions 19

Original issue discount (OID) 16, 

18-21, 64, 109

Adjustment to 27

Reporting requirements 19

Rules 19

P

Pass-through entities:

Rollover of gain 96

Passive activities 109

Gains and losses 38, 39, 45, 48, 98

Patronage dividends 33

Penalties:

Accuracy-related 6, 42

Backup withholding 5

Civil fraud 44

Early withdrawal 7, 27

Failure to pay tax 44

Failure to supply SSN 4

Substantial understatement 43

Section 199A deduction 43

Valuation misstatement 43

Political parties:

Debts owed by 82

Portfolio income 109

Preferred stock:

Nonqualified 69

Redeemable at a premium 32

Stripped 35, 109

Premiums on bonds 49, 64, 109

Private activity bonds 17, 109

Public utility stock reinvestment 62

Publications (See Tax help)

Puts and calls 87, 109

Table 4-3 88

Q

Qualified dividends 34

Qualified small business stock 64, 

81, 95

Gains on 95

R

Real estate investment trusts 

(REITs) 30, 61, 81

Real estate mortgage investment 

conduits (REMICs) 36, 52, 109

Regular interest 36

Residual interest 37, 86

Recordkeeping requirements:

Investment income 3

Small business stock 79

Redemption of stock 53

Redemption or retirement of 

bonds 54

Regulated futures contract 56, 109

Reinvestment rights 61

REITs (See Real estate investment 

trusts (REITs))

Related party transactions 52, 

71-73

Related persons 89

REMICs (See Real estate mortgage 

investment conduits (REMICs))

Reorganizations, corporate 69

Reporting requirements:

Bad debts 83

Bond premium amortization 50

Capital gains and losses 91, 96, 97

Dividend income 33

Interest income 24

Interest on U.S. savings bonds 10, 

11

Investment interest expenses 51

Like-kind exchanges 69

Options 87

Original issue discount 19

S corporation income, deductions, 

and credits 38

Section 1256 contracts 57

State or local government 

obligations 16

Straddles 98

Substitute payments 84

Tax-exempt interest income 24

Trades 102

Repossession of real property 80

Restricted property 59

Restricted stock 34, 109

Retirement of debt instrument 76

Return of capital (See Nondividend 

distributions)

Rollover of gain from sale:

Securities 96

S

S corporations 38, 63

Sales and trades of investment 

property 52

Definition 53

Savings bonds (See U.S. savings 

bonds)

SBIC stock (See Small business 

investment company stock)

Scrip dividends 33

Section 1202 gain 97, 102

Section 1244 stock 78

Section 1250 gain 102

Section 1256 contracts 55, 81, 87, 

98, 109

Net gain on 57

Net loss on 57

Reporting requirements 57

Securities:

Holding period 80

Installment sales 98

Rollover of gain from sale 96

Traders in 102

Worthless 54, 83

Securities futures contracts 56, 81, 

86, 109

Self-employment income 58

Self-employment tax 103

Seller-financed mortgages 26

Short sales 83, 84

Adjusted basis 64

Defined 109

Expenses of 50

Extraordinary dividends 84

Puts 87

Small business investment 

company stock 79

Short-term capital gains and 

losses 83, 99

Short-term obligations 22, 23, 64, 

74

Interest deduction, limit on 47

Sixty/forty (60/40) rule 56

Small business investment 

company stock 79, 97

Reporting requirements 79

Small business stock 64, 78, 81, 95

Social security number (SSN):

Custodial accounts 4

Joint accounts 4

Requirement to give 4

Specialized small business 

investment company stock 97

Spouses:

Transfers between 59, 71

(See also Related party 

transactions)

State or local government 

obligations 16-18

Market discount bonds (See Market 

discount bonds)

Private activity bonds 17, 109

Registration requirement 16

Tax-exempt interest 16

Taxable interest 16

Stock:

Basis 30, 32, 60, 96

Capital asset 74

Constructive ownership 72

Convertible 69

Corporate 69

Dividends (See Dividends)

Fractional shares 32, 80

Identification 61

Installment sales 98

Nonqualified preferred stock 69

Options for employees 2

Public utility, reinvestment 62

Redemption of 53

Replacement stock 96

Restricted stock 34, 109

Rights 31, 63, 81

S corporations 63

Sales to ESOPs or cooperatives 94

Small business 64, 81

114 Publication 550 (2023)
Splits 63

Straddles (See Straddles)

Stripped preferred stock 35, 109

Surrender of 54

Trades 69

Trust instruments treated as 55

Straddles 88-94

Defined 109

Holding period 92

Interest expense and carrying 

charges 51

Loss deferral rules 89

Mixed 84, 92, 93

Reporting requirements 98

Stripped bonds and coupons 16, 

20, 64

Stripped preferred stock 35, 109

Substitute payments 84

T

Tables:

Capital gains maximum rate 

(Table 4-4) 101

Income tax treaties (Table 1-3) 29

Investment income, reporting of 

(Table 1-1) 6

Puts and calls (Table 4-3) 88

U.S. savings bonds, person 

responsible for tax (Table 1-2) 12

Tax credit bonds 17

Tax help 103

Tax rates:

Capital gain and losses 101

Tax refunds:

Interest on 8

Tax shelters 39-44

Penalties 42

Reporting requirements 41

Rules to curb abuse 40

Tax-exempt bonds 74

Tax-exempt income:

Expenses of 50

Interest 16, 24

Tax-exempt obligations 16, 21, 64

Taxable income, expenses of 51

Taxes:

State income 51

Term loans 9, 109

Trade or business 45

Traders in securities 102

Trades:

Insurance 70

Investment property 52

Like-kind 67, 71

Nontaxable 59, 67, 80

Reporting requirements 102

Stock 69

Taxable 59

U.S. Treasury notes or bonds 71

Treasury bills, notes, and bonds 

(See U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and 

bonds)

Treasury inflation-indexed 

securities 20

Treasury inflation-protected 

securities (TIPS) 15, 20

Treaties, income tax (Table 1-3) 29

Trust income received by 

beneficiary 3

U

U.S. savings bonds 8, 10

Reporting interest on 8, 10

Retirement or profit-sharing plan, 

distributed from 13

Worksheet 26

Tax, responsible person 

(Table 1-2) 12

U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and 

bonds 8, 15, 71, 80

Undistributed capital gains 35

Usurious interest 8

V

Veterans' insurance:

Dividends on 33

W

Warrants 85

Wash sales 84-86, 109

Holding period 81

Loss deferral rules, straddles 91

Withholding, backup 4

Worksheets:

Capital loss carryover 100

Worthless securities 54, 83

Publication 550 (2023) 115